Classroom School Supplies

How badly do you really need those erasers? Screenshot/SSSCU

Evidently, the $1.6 billion that K-12 teachers already spend out of pocket on school supplies just isn't cutting it. Thankfully, the Silver State Schools Credit Union of Las Vegas, Nevada, now offers loans specifically for K-12 teachers who are struggling to scrape together the classroom essentials on their hemorrhaging budgets, Sociological Images reported.

"If you're a K-12 teacher in the state of Nevada, you know that keeping the classroom supply cabinet fully-stocked can be costly, " reads the email SSSCU sent to its members. "To help you purchase the materials you need beyond what the school's budget may provide we've created a low-interest Classroom Supply Loan especially for you."

How thoughtful!

Across the nation, states are providing schools with less funding on a per-student-basis than they did before the recession. And, inevitably, teachers are feeling the squeeze. Ironically, Nevada is one of the few states where adjusted spending per student is higher in Fiscal Year 2014 than FY 2008.

SSSCU isn't the only company to offer teacher-targeted school supply loans. But Silver State charges 1.99 percent APR whereas others generally offer 0.0 percent APR, at least in the beginning. As of Wednesday evening, you can still find this most generous offering on SSSCU's webpage.