‘Teachers already give so much’: School PTO works to relieve cost burdens

Oct 19, 2025 - 10:25

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‘Teachers already give so much’: School PTO works to relieve cost burdens

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- From pencils and paper to snacks and even socks for students in need, many teachers open their own wallets to buy critical items. On average, U.S. teachers spend nearly $900 every year to stock up.

At schools like Barack Obama Elementary in Richmond's Northside, where many students live below the poverty level, teachers spend even more.

But this year, the school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is back in action to try and reduce that with a seemingly ambitious goal: to raise $10,000 through its first-ever online auction.

With the auction closing at 10 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, the PTO is hoping for some last-minute bidding wars on items as varied as babysitting services and coffee with Richmond Mayor Danny Avula to handmade pieces from local artisans and vacation spots in the mountains or at the beach.

From the outset, the auction's financial objective appeared to be an especially tall order for a school's PTO that, according to its last two tax filings, has at most raised a few thousand dollars in one year and ended each year in the red.

And that's why Nick Bacon, already a full-time entrepreneur and Dad, has spent months working alongside other parents for his newfound side hustle -- auctioneering.

Exterior of Barack Obama Elementary School (Photo: Paul Nevadomski, 8News)

"Last year, when my son was in kindergarten, I was surprised to get an email from his teacher requesting, or launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a dehumidifier," Bacon said. "And that surprised me that that was something that parents or teachers would have to pay for themselves."

But as Bacon researched and learned how much his son's teachers were likely spending, he said he and the PTO went into problem-solving mode.

The end result of those brainstorming sessions was the "Baracktion".

However, Bacon said the PTO hadn't organized an online auction, at least not in recent memory, and certainly not of this scale. So he said they began calling other Richmond Public Schools' (RPS) parent-teacher organizations, particularly ones in more affluent neighborhoods where online auctions routinely garner tens of thousands of dollars.

The Linwood Holton Parent Teacher Association (PTA) answered the call in a big way.

"They were really, really supportive in giving us advice, giving us businesses to talk to, contributing things themselves," Bacon said. "So it does feel like we’re kinda standing on their shoulders a little bit to achieve our own success."

The Holton PTA's 2024 tax filings show it raised more than $73,000. That went toward a budget that provides "funds for classroom supplies, resources and programs", "teacher appreciation gifts and activities" and "student enrichment activities and community events" according to recent meeting minutes.

Bacon said instead of there being a sense of competition and a fight over the community's charitable dollars, Holton's PTA leaders recognized that helping Barack Obama Elementary's PTO could help uplift all of Richmond.

"The reality is a rising tide lifts all boats," Bacon said.

Bacon says just the process of putting together the auction has proven this, by engaging the community in a way that’s critical for the students’ success long after the auction ends.

"Knowing that we have parents that are volunteering their time, staff that are putting together experiences for the auction, and community members who are willing to contribute goods and services, I think that’s the real success that we’re seeing right now," Bacon said.

But that's not to say he won't celebrate the success of hitting $10,000. And he certainly wouldn't say no to $20,000.