By Devna Bose and Candice Wilder | Originally published by Mississippi Today
The email this summer came as a shock to Alanna Lawrence.
For the past two years, Lawrence and her husband, Jeremy, had received $9,000 each toward their student loans, thanks to a state-funded program that helps teachers pay off their debt. They teach in the Vicksburg-Warren School District, which the State Board of Education has designated an area critically short of teachers.
They were expecting $6,000 more each this year. But, they learned from the email, for the first time since the state Legislature created the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program in 2021, educators such as Lawrence will receive no assistance — even as Mississippi continues to grapple with a teacher shortage.
Lawrence said defunding the program sends a confusing message to the state’s educators.
“They say how much they appreciate us,” she said. “But the actions aren’t matching up.”
The Winter-Reed program provides up to three annual loan payments toward participating teachers’ student debt. Teachers who work in critical geographic shortage areas can receive $6,000 in the third year. Teachers who work in noncritical shortage areas can receive a third-year award of $3,500.
Earlier this year, the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid requested $6.5 million from the Legislature for Fostering Access and Inspiring Hope, or FAITH, scholarships and the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program. Lawmakers appropriated $3 million for both.
State representatives vote on a teacher pay raise bill in the Mississippi House chamber on Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Capitol in Jackson. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
The state’s Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board voted in May to award all $3 million to FAITH applicants, leaving no money for Winter-Reed.
The state financial aid office notified roughly 236 Winter-Reed applicants in June that it could not provide awards this year because of the funding shortage.
The shortfall comes as thousands of teaching jobs across the state are unfilled. According to a report released by the Mississippi Department of Education in December, the vacancies are up hundreds from previous years.
Teachers say their low pay is driving the staffing shortages. This past session, lawmakers gave teachers a raise, but it was far smaller than they originally promised, leaving many educators disappointed.
Sen. David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson who was instrumental in creating the program, said he was disappointed the Legislature underfunded the request this year, blaming it on state leaders’ decision last year to phase out the income tax.
Blount said he proposed the “inexpensive and targeted” program in 2021 with the teacher shortage in mind.
“It’s an extra incentive that makes the difference in someone choosing the profession,” said Blount, who is also vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “We shouldn’t put programs on the books if we’re not serious about meeting that commitment.”
While he plans to advocate for the program’s funding next session, Blount said the decision to eliminate the income tax will continue to impact what the state can pay for.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, did not respond to a request for comment.
Winter-Reed isn’t the only state financial aid program facing a funding shortfall. The state’s financial aid office still faces a $7.3 million funding gap that could reduce aid for nearly 27,000 students such as those receiving the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG), Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant (MESG) and the Higher Education Legislative Plan (HELP).
Last week, the Woodward Hines Education Foundation pledged $800,000 toward FAITH scholarships for the year, and college and university foundations also pledged support.
Chatham Hodges, a teacher in Lowndes County schools, relied on the Winter-Reed program to pay off her student loan debt. The loans, on top of a low salary, can make it hard for teachers to make ends meet or work toward other financial goals, she said.
Sen. David Blount asks questions during a TANF hearing at the State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, December 15, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
“Without programs like this, I don’t think I would have had the same opportunity to move forward financially as a young teacher,” said Hodges, who has taught kindergarten for five years. “It made a huge difference in my life.”
Hodges said she was frustrated when she learned the program wasn’t being funded this year.
“Teachers are already being asked to do so much, and programs that help recruit and retain teachers are incredibly important, especially when Mississippi is facing a teacher shortage,” she said. “When programs like this disappear, I worry that it makes it harder to recruit new teachers and retain the teachers who are already here.”
Darien Spann, president of Mississippi Association of Educators, said he hopes legislators can find funding to restore the Winter-Reed program.
“Everybody should have the opportunities to obtain the necessary credentials that they need to remain teachers in the state,” Spann said.
Lawrence and her husband follow education policy, so they knew lawmakers were making cuts this year. But because the program is billed as a three-year commitment, she didn’t expect they would receive rejection emails after receiving the money for two years.
The money is applied directly to the loans, which makes a huge impact and cuts straight into the debt, Lawrence said. Now, her family is figuring out how to deal with larger-than-expected monthly student loan payments.
“We’re going to have to be really tight on our budget,” she said. “My husband coaches and we have a daughter, so second jobs aren’t an option for us.”
