Teacher loan program in limbo

 by Daniel Newhauser
 published on Friday, March 28, 2008

A new scholarship aimed at providing an infusion of teachers into Arizona's understaffed education system may already be in jeopardy, University officials said.

The Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for the state's universities, formed the Math, Science and Special Education Loan Forgiveness Program at the bequest of the state legislature in January.

The program compensates education students going into math, science or special education fields for up to five years worth of loans, covering the cost of in-state tuition, mandatory fees and instructional materials.

In exchange for financial aid, recipients must commit to teaching for one year in the Arizona public school system, plus one additional year for each year they receive aid through the program.

Mari Koerner, dean of ASU's College of Teacher Education and Leadership, said Arizona — like the entire U.S. — is in the midst of a teacher shortage, especially in the fields of math, science and special education.

Math and science students are often attracted to higher-paying fields, such as engineering, she said. The program encourages them to explore a teaching career and facilitates their retention in the Arizona school system, she added.

"We want to attract people, prepare them and have them stay in Arizona for their entire career," Koerner said.

This semester, 63 Arizona students across the tri-university system received aid, and more are expected next semester, said Jan Oestreich, ABOR policy analyst.

But, she added, because of Arizona's projected $1 billion 2008 budget shortfall, the legislature may have other uses for the money used to fund the program next spring.

"Because it was crafted by the legislature, there's a possibility that they could not fund it again this [upcoming] semester," she said.

For the 29 ASU students who are currently funded, including junior Kimberlee Brown, the loss of the financial security the program provides could be devastating.

Brown, who returned to school to be a math teacher following a banking career, said she would be forced to take out other loans and would have trouble repaying them on a teacher's salary.

"It's hard going into a field with low income," she said.

Arizona teachers receive an average annual salary of $42,967, about $4,800 less than the national average, according to Quality Counts 2008 -- an annual study of the national education system by Education Week newspaper.

When it comes to training and rewarding its K-12 teachers, the study ranked Arizona 40th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

ASU education professor Sarup Mathur said endeavors like the loan forgiveness program are great in the short term, but Arizona's major problem lies in the low level of respect given to teachers.

"In general, there have to be bigger things we have to do like making the teaching field a really enticing field," Mathur said.

In the long-term, higher salaries for teachers would be the ideal solution to Arizona's education woes, she said.

But for now, Koerner said a large number of applicants with relatively little publicity should show the legislature that the program has had positive results during its short existence.

And with more than $2 million given out so far, Oestreich said she hopes to see the program carry on.

"It would be a shame if the legislature did not fund it," she said.

Reach the reporter at: daniel.newhauser@asu.edu.