Idaho tries to lure teachers with “forgivable loans”

Facing the prospect of a not-to-distant shortage of teachers, the Blaine County School District in central Idaho and the county’s nonprofit education foundation are taking innovative measures to lure educators to the Wood River Valley. The Blaine County Education Foundation announced earlier this month that it has awarded its first “forgivable loans” to help two Wood River High School teachers meet the stiff local price for down payments on homes, a solution that underscores the stumbling block in drawing educators to the valley—exorbitant real estate prices.

Solutions are not something the school district can ignore, as the county’s Hispanic student population continues to mushroom and half the district’s teachers reach retirement age within the next 10 years. Read more in The Idaho Mountain Express and Guide online.