My students don’t get toilet paper; billionaires get handouts

by Katherine Brezler

I have had the privilege of teaching in New York public schools since 2005. My entire career has been spent serving in economically disadvantaged communities, first teaching on the west side of Yonkers and more recently in the Bronx. Toward the end of every year, both students and teachers run out of a crucial item — toilet paper.

Last year my class and I received the rare opportunity to attend the Lincoln Center ballet. I couldn’t wait to see the joy on my students’ faces as they took in the opulence. During intermission I took two student to the restroom. I stood outside waiting for them to come out. I couldn’t wait to hear about what they noticed; was it the marble counter tops, or the brass knuckling on the chairs?

Simple necessities like toilet paper should not be subject to budget constraints. Our students and our teachers deserve dignity and respect.

The door flew open and the glowing faces of my students greeted me, “Ms. Brezler did you know their bathrooms have TWO toilet paper rolls!”

My heart sank. Simple necessities like toilet paper should not be subject to budget constraints. Our students and our teachers deserve dignity and respect.

I love teaching. My workplace is every child’s classroom. Help me help them be the best members of society they can be. They are our future. Support me and my fellow teachers and say NO to this GOP tax scam. Billionaires do not need another handout.

Katherine Brezler is a second-grade teacher in the Bronx and a member of the United Federation of Teachers. She’s running for state Senate in New York because, as she puts it, “I know the problems facing our schools are too big to fight in community boards and city council hearings.”