Oklahoma teacher panhandles for money to buy school supplies

TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma elementary school teacher has taken to panhandling for money to buy school supplies for her third-grade classroom.

Teresa Danks told KOKI-TV that she sought donations after slumping state revenue led to reduced funding for education in recent years. Danks says she has spent $2,000 to $3,000 of her $35,000 salary on supplies for her students.

With a sign asking for donations and saying “Anything Helps,” Danks raised $55 in six minutes standing at an intersection near Interstate 44 in Tulsa.

She later created a gofundme page, raising more than $14,000 as of Tuesday morning.

Danks says she also wants people to realize how budget cuts affect education.

Although education received an increase in the current state budget, some of the funding plans are being challenged as unconstitutional.