Teacher Supply Fund Helps Teachers Through Budget Crisis

Caption: Juniors Augusta Poggi, Gus Checel, and Krishen Chandra stocking the TSF Closet in room 122.

The Teacher Supply Fund is a new club at CCHS, founded by students to fundraise for teachers. Over the summer, juniors Gus Checel and Ty Manell got the idea for the club after hearing about how funding issues at our school were keeping teachers from getting the supplies they needed. In order to address that issue, they started the TSF with a few friends at the beginning of last semester. The TSF Club leadership includes Gus Checel as the president, Ty Manell as the vice president, Krishen Chandra as the treasurer, and Michael Mateo Pena as the secretary.

Every week, the Teacher Supply Fund Club meets in Room 122 to discuss fundraising ideas and more ways to help CCHS teachers. “We have a supply closet… that’s constantly stocked for any teacher, they can come in and get supplies” says Gus Checel. The closet is fully equipped with tissue boxes, printing paper, and other classroom necessities. Recently, they made a big purchase: a new projector for Dr. Yen, a CCHS math teacher whose old projector had been broken for more than two months.

TSF mostly raises money through parent donations and donations from local businesses including McComb Orthodontics and Cash&Carry. They’ve also done an afterschool candy sale fundraiser, and held fundraisers at Back to School Night and the Screenland 5k.

The Teacher Supply Fund club has some impressive long-term goals. Eventually, “we’re hoping to become a 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit.” says club secretary Michael Mateo Pena. This would make them a separate entity from the school, and make it easier for businesses to sponsor them. Additionally, they’re aiming to branch out to the middle school and elementary schools to become involved with the entire district.

Over the past few years, the Culver City Unified School District has seen increasingly significant budget cuts, so the amount of classroom supplies the school is able to buy for teachers has decreased. Many teachers at schools throughout CCUSD have had to pay for important school materials out of their own pockets or make do without them. This is only one effect of the CCUSD budget crisis, which has come to a head this past year, prompting the School Board to consider cutting jobs across the district and reducing the activities available to students like field trips and intervention programs. 

Right now, the TSF is  working on reaching out to underclassmen who can eventually take over leadership of the club. “That way, this club can exist even after we leave, and it continues doing good, whether it’s a nonprofit or not”, says Gus Checel. 

Despite being a newer club, the Teacher Supply Fund Club has already had a huge impact on CCHS. They have helped countless teachers and students have a better experience at our school and will hopefully continue to support the CCHS community for years to come. 

If you’d like to make a donation to TSF and support CCHS teachers, cash or checks can be mailed to Katherine Smith at 4401 Elenda St., Culver City, CA, 90230. Checks can be made out to Culver City High School with the memo “Teacher Supply Fund.”