Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

School Supplies Pour in After Oklahoma Teacher Laurissa Kovacs Posts Photo of Broken Chair

School Supplies Pour in After Oklahoma Teacher Laurissa Kovacs Posts Photo of Broken Chair
(NowThis News/YouTube, @AlexisAarons/Twitter)

A 7th grade art teacher from Puterbaugh Middle School in McAlester, Oklahoma, was fed up with the dilapidated conditions her students face at school every day.

On March 28, Laurissa Kovacs took to Facebook in an effort to raise awareness of schools needing more public funding and posted a photo of a broken chair, one of many, that her students sit on in the classroom.

But she didn't foresee the massive outpouring of support when she received $44,000 in donated school supplies after her post became viral.


On Facebook, Kovacs wrote why she was "walking out."

This is my fourth year teaching in Oklahoma and after taxes and insurance I take home $2,311 a month, $27,732 a year. I could make about 20 grand more by moving to Texas or Arkansas, and many teachers are doing just that.


These kids deserve the opportunity of a great education but we cannot give them that if all our teachers are emergency certified or completely over worked.

Kovacs went on to describe teaching in overcrowded classrooms, where there aren't enough tables and chairs for her 32 students.

This chair, or cheek-pincher, is what my students have to sit on. Most of the chairs in my room look like this. Once they get to this point it's only a matter of time before the bottom goes completely out.

Her students often rush to the classroom to see who could get a proper chair first. Even if they manage to nab a chair with a secure seat, the tops are often jagged and can potentially harm the students.



By Wednesday afternoon, her post was shared over 82,000, with comments asking how people could help.

She created a registry on Amazon asking for supplies, including markers, pencils, and new chairs.



Kovacs is one of many teachers participating in the walk out to demand more school funding in addition for increased wages that teachers deserve.

According to CNN, she's currently staying at the state Capitol during the walkout but stopped by Puterbaugh and saw there were over 600 packages in donations ranging from scissors to six refurbished Google Chromebooks.

The past five days has been totally surreal and I don't think the full effect will hit me until I'm back in my classroom with my students. I think they will be amused to see me cry when I'm explaining everything.
My plans are to share, share, share! I'm not the only one in my district who needs things, so I'll be sharing it all.


More donations filled with school supplies are expected to come in.(NowThis News/YouTube)


More donations are expected. Kovacs told NowThis News she's expecting 500 new chairs coming in, despite the roster of 400 students at her school.

Twitter commented on how priorities, regarding matters of public education, need to be seriously addressed.



The children shouldn't suffer while obtaining an education.


H/T -, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, CNN

More from News

Miriam Margolyes
David Levenson/Getty Images

'Harry Potter' Star Miriam Margolyes Offers Mic Drop Explanation For Why Respecting Pronouns Matters

Sometimes it is just that easy to make people happy. This is a lesson learned over and over in our lives, but that's because it's an important one.

Actor Miriam Margolyes shared how she learned to change her behavior to make others happier. Margolyes appeared on The Graham Norton Show recently and brought up a fairly polarizing subject in the United Kingdom: trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk looks on during a public appearance, as the billionaire once again turns a newsroom style decision into a culture-war grievance broadcast to millions on X.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk Cries Racism After Associated Press Explains Why They Capitalize 'Black' But Not 'White'

Elon Musk has spent the year picking fights, from health research funding to imagined productivity crises among federal workers and whether DOGE accomplished anything at all besides leaving chaos in its wake.

His latest grievance, however, is thinly disguised as grammatical. Specifically, he is once again furious that the Associated Press (AP) capitalizes “Black” while keeping “white” lowercase.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Yale University School of Engineering and Applied Science
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Elon Musk Gets Brutal Wakeup Call After Claiming That Yale's Lack Of Republican Faculty Is 'Outrageous Bigotry'

Elon Musk—who has repeatedly whined about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—took to his social media platform to whine about a lack of conservative faculty at Yale University.

Musk shared data compiled by The Buckley Institute (TBI), a conservative-leaning organization founded at Yale in 2010. TBI found 82.3% of faculty self-identified as Democrats or primarily supporting Democratic candidates, 15% identified as independents, while only 2.3% identified as Republicans.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barry Manilow
Mat Hayward/Getty Images

Barry Manilow Speaks Out After Postponing Farewell Tour Dates Due To Lung Cancer Scare

"Looks Like We Made It" singer Barry Manilow is in the process of saying goodbye to the stage and meeting his fans in-person, but he has to press pause for a few months after receiving a jarring diagnosis.

On December 22, 2025, the "Mandy" singer posted on Facebook, explaining that a "cancerous spot" had been discovered on his left lung.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, the last time audiences saw Captain America before his unexpected return was teased for Avengers: Doomsday.
Disney/Marvel Studios

Marvel Just Confirmed That Chris Evans Is Returning For 'Avengers: Doomsday'—And Fans Have Mixed Feelings

Folks, once again, continuity is more of a suggestion than a rule in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has officially confirmed that Chris Evans is returning as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, and the internet has responded exactly how you’d expect: screaming, celebrating, arguing, and a very justified side-eye toward how Sam Wilson keeps getting treated.

The confirmation comes via a teaser now playing exclusively in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. There is no official online release, despite leaks circulating. If you didn’t catch it on the big screen, Marvel’s response is essentially: sorry, guess you had to be there.

Keep ReadingShow less