Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/417576
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N SANDRA STEWART-XIMINES, Val Verde Teachers Association: I owe approximately $130,000 and would not have been able to get through college without loans. I don't think I'll be able to pay them off before I die, but am about to send an application for forgiveness. I know I borrowed it and have an ob- ligation, but I would love to see education not be so expensive. I feel burdened; it's like a weight on my head. I have to curtail any extra activities that cost cash. I just do not have it. DAWN TURPIN, Desert Sands Teachers Association: I don't think I will ever be able to pay it off. I have been teaching since 2001 and am now working on my second master's. Every time my loan comes out of financial deferment, I enroll in another program. I owe about $100,000, and my stomach turns at the thought of paying it off. Students need to understand that school loans are forever loans. They never ever go away. ALEX PRAHL, San Miguel Teachers Association: After graduating, I had accumulated about $33,000 in student loan debt. My payments are about $250 per month. My loans heavily impact my life. I drive a 13-year-old car 84 miles to and from work each day, and I can only hope it holds out for another year or two. I work a second job to meet my finan- cial demands. I was working both jobs in order to save, but now it appears I will just be able to make ends meet. KERI KIVETT, Redlands Education Support Professionals Association: My loans have really affected me. I had planned to go back to school for my master's degree to become a speech-language pathologist. But I don't know how much that would hurt my husband and me in the future with pay- ments. I don't qualify for a lot of scholarships. Many are directed at students who have just graduated from high school. I don't want to struggle with more payments. I'm already $50,000 in debt. in the last decade, which has caused more students than ever to graduate in debt, according to a report by the Campaign for College Opportunity. Some 696,349 California under- graduates took out a federal loan in the 2011-12 school year, up from 397,497 in 2003-04. The state's t o t a l u n d e r g r a d u a t e p o p u l a t i o n increased by only 9.6 percent during the same period. C a l i f o r n i a l e a d s t h e n a t i o n i n escalation of college costs, according to the U.S. Education Department. Seven University of California cam- p u s e s a n d t h re e C a l i f o r n i a S t a te University campuses are among the top 5 percent of public colleges in the nation with the fastest-rising tui- tion. UC campuses at Berkeley, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, Santa Cruz, San Diego and Irvine saw tui- tion increases of 40 to 43 percent between 2009 and 2011, while CSU campuses at Long Beach, San Diego, Imperial Valley and Chico got tuition increases of 40 to 42 percent in the two-year period, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Attempts to tackle the student debt problem legislatively have been met with frustration. The most recent was in June, when a bill by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) died in Congress. It would have allowed millions who took out loans before July 1, 2013, to refinance and pay at a lower rate, while private student loan borrowers in good standing could refinance into the federal student loan program. Degrees Not Debt The state and national Degrees Not Debt campaigns are aimed at reduc- ing student loan debt through loan forgiveness programs, lower repay- ment plans, and reinvesting in higher education so college becomes afford- able for all. Goals include informing educators about loan forgiveness programs and "income driven repayment plans" which tie A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports that those who borrow more than $25,000 in student loans have a decreased quality of life, even decades later in life. CTA members paying off loans confirm that it's challenging to survive on a teacher's wages combined with loan payments. Here are some comments from CTA members on how loans affect lifestyle and the need for reform. Paying off loans is a struggle for teachers 33 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 4