NATCHEZ &045;&045; As parents stock up for pencils, paper and notebooks in advance of the first day of classes, they may not realize their children’s teachers have been making their own school supply lists.

In fact, many teachers have been decorating their classrooms for days, getting ready to welcome students for the new year. That process has been especially exciting for Jessica Fortenberry, a brand-new fifth-grade teacher at McLaurin Elementary. &uot;I’ve been here almost a month already,&uot; said Fortenberry, who has painted a colorful fish mural in her room and decorated with palm trees made of colored paper and old carpet rolls.

But Fortenberry has relied on hand-me-downs and out-of-pocket expenses to help decorate for the students. &uot;I’ve had to dig,&uot; she said. &uot;I’ve had to recycle a lot of stuff from past teachers. I came in here with nothing.&uot;

Fortenberry will be teaching science and social studies this year, the first McLaurin has had its fifth-grade teachers &uot;team teach.&uot; In the past, teachers had taught all of the subjects to their own classrooms &045;&045; this year the subjects are divided.

Fortenberry arrived before the other fifth-grade teachers and scoured the school for materials to help decorate her room. The globes hanging from her ceiling for with her own money. &uot;If I didn’t find (the supplies), somebody gave them to me,&uot; she said.

Buying their own supplies &045;&045; not necessarily pencils or dry-erase markers but decorations that make a classroom unique &045;&045; is a way of life for many teachers. And this year, buying supplies may be harder for Natchez-Adams teachers. Budget problems have cut the Educational Enhancement Fund from which they

buy tools such as computer software, puzzles and other hands-on items.

Down the hall from first-year teacher Fortenberry is Mary Ann Downs, a 24-year veteran teacher who is back in Natchez after several years away. Downs has created a &uot;Survivor&uot;-themed room with paper fish on the walls, plants with &uot;spiders&uot; and paper grass skirts on just about everything.

&uot;When (students) come into a classroom and you give them something that is unique, they take pride in that,&uot; she said. &uot;It keeps them focused.&uot;

Rashea Bailey, a fifth-grade teacher new to Natchez-Adams schools, has been teaching for about five years. She said most teachers know they start off the year spending their own money on supplies to liven their classrooms. &uot;It’s your class, and it’s your space,&uot; she said. &uot;It says a lot about you as a teacher. You just can’t be lazy.&uot;

McLaurin Principal Karen Tutor said the supply budget cuts haven’t seemed to hurt teachers yet, but it’s still too early to tell. &uot;Part of our job is to make sure they have everything they need,&uot; she said. &uot;Teachers do spend a lot of their own money. They spend a lot of time and money, but it’s worth it.&uot;