Teacher loan bill back on Gov.’s desk, under review

For the second time in three years, the Legislature has passed a bill that would provide student loan relief to teachers who work in high-needs schools.

Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed in the bill in 2011 and Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the bill both times, is hoping for a different outcome this year.

Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said in an email Monday that the bill is still under review.

This year, Stapleton sponsored House Bill 53, which would help pay off student loans for teachers who go to work in schools where many students come from low-income families or where few students score proficiently on state tests.

Stapleton said Martinez vetoed the bill two years ago citing fiscal concerns and that this iteration of the bill will not change tax rates or create any new financial burden.

Stapleton said the funding for the program could be shifted from an existing program that helps prospective teachers defray the initial costs of licensure, then lets them work off the loan by going to work in an area with a teacher shortage. Stapleton said the current fund is underused, and her program would be more efficient and effective.

There is evidence to support this in the fiscal impact report on the bill, prepared by staff of the Legislative Finance Committee. The report cites a 2008 LFC finding that loan repayment programs, like the one Stapleton is proposing, are more cost-effective than “loan for service” programs like the one currently in place. This is because they are cheaper and easier to administer.

Such programs also create less financial risk for the state, according to the report. Rather than providing money to teachers at the beginning of their schooling and taking a chance that the investment will pay off, loan repayment programs like the one Stapleton proposes would help teachers who have already completed their teaching degrees.

Stapleton said some of her constituents who are teachers have consistently asked her to carry the legislation and she believes it would give teachers a reason to teach where they are most needed.

“The purpose of this program is to create an incentive for licensed teachers to select teaching positions in high-risk schools,” she said.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal