MADISON, Wis. - The percentage of Wisconsinites with student loan debt continues to rise at a rate much faster than most of the rest of the nation. Analiese Eicher, program director with the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, says 70 percent of the state's graduates are carrying student loan debt, leaving school owing tens of thousands of dollars apiece. She says the state ranks 17th in the amount of debt students graduate with.

"Which doesn't sound too bad, but the amount of debt is over $28,000," says Eicher. "But then the scary one is that we rank third in the United States of college students who graduate with debt."

A study from The Institute for College Access and Success found that over the past decade, ten percent more graduates were leaving school with student debt, and the numbers keep climbing. Eicher says at least 812,000 Wisconsinites are carrying federal student loan debt, totaling more than $19 billion.

Some Republicans, such as U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, say they oppose student loan debt reform because there already are too many people in college, and they run up big debt because they like the college lifestyle and want to remain a student.

All that debt, and the monthly payments due on it, are a drag on the state's economy, according to Eicher, because graduates delay major purchases.

"We found that, in Wisconsin, if you have a student loan you are two-thirds more likely to buy a used car as opposed to a new car," says Eicher. "And you are also two-thirds more likely to be renting than owning your own home."

She estimates that represents more than 200 million dollars a year in new-car sales and home sales lost, because of student loan payments that must be made.

Many of the loans are at high interest rates, which cannot be refinanced. Advocates say the solution is to allow graduates to refinance their debt.

"And you can refinance every other kind of loan except for a student loan, and thankfully there's legislation that's been introduced in the last two legislative sessions that would allow for state-based refinancing," she says. "But it is still stalled in the Wisconsin legislature as Republicans have refused to take action on it."

At the federal level, similar efforts to allow the refinancing of student loans have failed, with votes falling along party lines: Democrats are in favor, Republicans are not.


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Special state funding for mental health staff at Michigan public schools during the pandemic is ending this year, leaving schools scrambling to find ways to keep the professionals in the building.

The $240-million grant started in 2021, as students coped with challenges, from virtual learning and canceled sports to losing a loved one to COVID. Now, districts are seeking alternatives.

Diane Golzynski, deputy superintendent of business, health and library services for the Michigan Department of Education, said the options include a program known as the School Mental Health Apprenticeship Program to encourage people to choose mental health careers by giving them financial support.

"To pay folks who need to do their supervised practice internships in order to go into this field; it's to give them a small wage, so they can actually do that," Golzynski explained.

She pointed out districts can also apply for Medicaid matching funds for all their eligible work is eligible and use those dollars to keep mental health providers in schools.

Golzynski stressed the goal is to build a comprehensive school mental health system.

"We don't want to just put professionals in the schools, we want to put professionals in the schools that the schools need, because there's different types of professionals," Golzynski noted. "It might be a psychologist, it might be a counselor, it might a social worker, it might be a school nurse."

She emphasized her department is also working with the districts on how to best use their mental health staffers.

Critics might counter it is parents' responsibility to take care of their children's mental health needs. But Golzynski countered it is often in school where these issues are flagged or acknowledged.

"It's the schools partnering with the families to help support this child, so that the child can be the best learner possible," Golzynski asserted.

Golzynski added another school mental health funding program on the table offers a per-pupil allocation to each district.


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School districts around Washington and elsewhere may have celebrated School Lunch Hero Day on Friday, a salute to cafeteria workers - but food service employees are asking for more than just a pat on the back. They're asking for a wage that keeps up with inflation.

Washington State has about 6,500 school food service workers who make the average full-time equivalent of just over $54,000 a year.

Paul Buse-Bing is kitchen manager at Pine Lake Middle School in Sammamish.

"All the positions in the school district are important, and everybody works hard. But students who don't have a proper meal aren't getting nutritious food, then they're not capable of participating to their fullest extent in their school day. And so what we do is very important," he said.

This year, lawmakers denied a request from Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdahl to give paraeducators a $7/hour pay raise; in his re-election campaign he has said he intends to seek a more broad-based increase for classified workers next year.

Buse-Bing said as the cost of living has gone up, the relatively low wages are making it hard to find enough staff.

"We go through the school year a lot of times understaffed, and we don't have substitutes or other people to fill in when people get sick or go on vacation, and a lot has to do with the pay wage. Especially with the inflation," he added.

Many school districts say they are strapped for funding and need more state resources in order to
recruit and retain qualified workers.


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It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and there's some mixed news when it comes to how well South Dakota is compensating its teachers.

According to the National Education Association's annual Rankings and Estimates report, the national average teacher salary increased about 4% to nearly $70,000 a year between the 2021 and 2022 school years.

But adjusted for inflation, teachers still make 5% less than they did a decade ago.

President of the South Dakota Education Association Loren Paul noted that teachers there saw one of the highest salary increases across the country this year - a more than 5% jump.

"And the last three years, we've seen more than what is required by the state," said Paul. "So, hopefully we can continue that trend."

Despite the increase, South Dakota didn't shake its national salary rank of 49th, at just over $53,000.

The last time the South Dakota Legislature enacted a law to increase teacher pay was in 2016, when it raised the state's sales tax by $0.005.

South Dakota's highest ranking in the report of 27th was for its starting salary, which averages $43,000. Paul said that helps bring in new educators, but doesn't do much to retain them.

"Overall salary increases are tied to retention," said Paul, "and if you're losing them off the top faster than you can bring them in the bottom, raising the average is what's important, not just the starting salary."

He said teacher retention and shortages remain nationwide issues. North Dakota and Wyoming, which both rank higher, use state revenue from the fossil fuel industry to help pay teachers.