COLUMBIA, S.C. — More teachers are now opting to pay back their loans taken out through the South Carolina Teacher Loan Program, according to a new report from the Education Oversight Committee.
The program now has an extra $21 million surplus from teachers who no longer qualify paying back their loans. The surplus almost tripled from the $8 million surplus in 2018.
The program allows teachers who serve in critical needs areas to have their loans forgiven after a certain number of years. If a teacher decides not to teach or stops teaching in a critical needs area, they will have to pay back that money.
Teachers in their first few years can be disproportionately affected by classroom challenges, says Palmetto State Teachers Association Director of Governmental Affairs Patrick Kelly.
"Really what we're seeing is a culmination of a deterioration in working conditions for teachers over the last five or six years," said Kelly. "We’re seeing growing class sizes and all of that really kind of adds together to kind of create an environment where a new teacher decides that it’s actually not worth it for them to stay and they’re willing to take the financial hit in order to improve their work life balance."
Teacher vacancies are increase statewide, according to the Center for Education Recruitment and Retention. According to their Annual Educator Supply and Demand Report, there were 1613 vacancies at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, compared to 1,474 the previous year.
The surplus from the fund normally goes towards paying for future loan borrowers, but the Committee is considering using some of it for resources to help new teachers.
"Especially those first year teachers, making sure that school districts have something in place where these teachers can get the support that they need" said Communications Manager for the Education Oversight Committee Tenell Felder. "Be that through mentorship, supportive staff, things of that nature."
The Education Oversight Committee asked the Teacher Loan Advisory Committee to establish a plan to specifically look at ways to use the surplus funds and to report back to the EOC with their recommendation.