If your social media feeds are suddenly oversaturated with crowdfunding pleas from your teacher friends seeking financial support for classroom supplies, you’re not alone.

Fall is upon us, which means across the country, teachers are sharing disheartening stories of having to reach into their shallow pockets to cover costs for learning materials not covered by their schools. Teachers union representatives such as Randi Weingarten will use these pleas to advocate more investment in our “underfunded” public school system. However, with historical data showing decades of substantial investment in the K-12 education apparatus, it’s clear we need a new approach.

Instead of flushing funds down the funnel of public education, states should support these teachers directly by implementing Teacher Savings Accounts .

In a report for the American Enterprise Institute, Patrick Graff presents a compelling case for providing teachers with state-funded, restricted-use accounts starting at a base amount of $1,000. These Teacher Savings Accounts could then serve as a financial resource enabling individual educators to purchase classroom supplies and other educational expenses, ensuring their classrooms are in the best shape possible for the start of the academic year. TSAs would increase funding flexibility effectively to meet the varied demands of the teacher — factoring in teachers' experience levels and the types of students they serve.

To fund TSA programs, states would reallocate a small percentage of state education funding directly to teachers. Not only would the reallocation serve as an immediate raise for teachers without increasing spending, but it would also give control over certain classroom supply decisions to the person who knows what supplies students need the most. The minimum base cost of $1,000 should be more than enough for most teachers as, on average, teachers spend just over $850 out of pocket on classroom expenses, according to a national survey commissioned by Adopt A Classroom. If a teacher does not spend the entire TSA allotment in a single year, he or she should be able to roll over the funding for classroom resources the following year.

According to polling from EdChoice, TSAs are wildly popular, with nearly 90% of teachers supporting the idea of designated accounts to help pay for classroom supplies and professional development. Investing directly in teachers from all backgrounds could help mitigate turnover rates and the burden of prepping for the upcoming school year. These improvements would invigorate teacher morale and alleviate financial constraints, benefiting the students who are directly served by these dedicated professionals.

Furthermore, increasing teacher autonomy takes strides toward repairing the strained relationships between communities and their local school districts. For instance, a recent report  from the Center on Reinventing Public Education highlighted that nearly one in three district leaders had cases of “verbal or written threats against educators.” Empowering educators with TSAs can help mend this rift by recognizing teachers’ expertise within their classrooms.

Teacher crowdfunding campaigns are disheartening, but they should bring attention to the chronic misuse of funds in our public education system — not myths of underfunding. It’s time for states to try supporting the teachers themselves, rather than pouring money into a broken system. Teachers deserve to start the school year fully supplied and supported without begging for donations on social media.

Cooper Conway ( @CooperConway1 ) is a William E. Simon national policy fellow at 50CAN, a scholar-in-residence at the Student Award Center, and a contributor at Young Voices, where he focuses on education reform.