Junior high school teacher Kate Fischer doesn’t qualify for financial assistance from Uncle Sam to help pay off her student loan debt.
But if Fischer, who has four years of teaching experience in Cincinnati public schools, worked on Capitol Hill or for the federal government, she would be eligible for hefty federal student loan perks paid for by taxpayers.
Congressional staffers get $6,000 in loans repaid annually, up to $40,000; federal workers get $10,000 annually up to $60,000. Teachers can get $5,000 in loans repaid after five years if they work in low-income school districts designated by the Department of Education. Science, math and special education teachers in those districts are eligible for up to $17,500.
House staffers are eligible immediately; Senate staffers after one year of employment; and federal workers after three years. Lawmakers are not eligible at all.
With so much emphasis being placed on improving the quality of education in America, teachers like Fischer feel they should be getting the same kind of loan perks provided to federal employees and congressional staff.
Fischer earns $45,000 a year and is still repaying a $30,000 loan from Smith College. She doesn’t teach in one of the targeted poor school districts.
“If Congress and the federal government want to send a message that teachers are important, then they are not doing that,” she said.
