The New York Times Misses the Story

I want to thank you for publishing this information. I am one of the KY teachers that have been adversely affected by the Best In Class promise. The truth needs to be known to the public and this article does that. So, thanks.

Great job in exposing the wrongdoing of not only the Kentucky lender but also the state for allowing this horrible misfortune! I have been reading stories for a while about this particular loan forgiveness situation and I have been waiting for someone to get it right. Kudos to you for getting all the details. It seems that our Federal Secretary could offer some relief here if he would choose. Just a few weeks ago, Congressman Petri asked him to consider referring such cases as mentioned here to the AG. I would think Kentucky 's Congressional Delegates would be all over this story putting pressure on the state and federal level to fix this problem. Now is not the time to be best buddies with the FFEL program. They would set themselves apart better by protecting their own constituents who were duped by bad policy and bad decisions on the part of the lender. Nice job with the article. I hope it helps these borrowers.

I read a posting previously that stated, “We need to see what the two parties agreed to for a clearer understanding”. It was very CLEAR to me after speaking with the other party over the telephone. My loan was going to be paid after five years. That could not be any CLEARER! I am 47 and will be 77 years old when my loan is paid off. I did go back to school because of the promise that was made regardless if they should or shouldn’t have made it!

I want to thank you for having the “Backbone” to report the truth about this injustice. Too many times we are afraid to offend someone so the major issues are ignored.

Thanks for publishing "the rest of the story." I too am a KY teacher facing financial ruin thanks to the demise of the Best In Class program. We continue to wait for this story to get the national attention it deserves. Our Kentucky representatives have turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to our situation, so unfortunately we have to rely on Congressman Petri and others like him who are willing to take a stand for the teachers and nurses that have become the victims in this debacle. Is anybody out there listening??

I truly appreciate your well written, accurate, and thorough article depicting the plight of teachers all over the Commonwealth of Kentucky that were falsely led to believe that their loans would be forgiven.

I was personally in the hotel business for 20+ years, making excellent money (close to twice what I make now), but decided I wanted something better out of life. I enrolled in a local college and was explained that if I taught special education my loan would be forgiven 20% a year for five years. I enrolled and got my Masters in one year, while at the same time teaching. I love what I do but did not expect to be in debt $17,000 starting out at $33,00 a year, when I was 46 years old.

I would also like to note that there are still shortages for special education teachers in Kentucky, and after this situation, I don't expect it to get better.

Thanks again for the article. I learned a lot, and will refer to it when explaining our situation.

Sincerely,

John Green

Thank you so much for writing a truthful and fair article about the Best in Class situation. I was very discouraged last week after reading the article in the NY Times. This article has rejuvenated me and given me the energy to continue fighting for what is rightfully ours. You should be commended!

Thank you for helping our cause by writing this informative piece. One important point everyone keeps missing is how KHESLC instructed many of us to file for academic forebearance for years allowing our massive totals to accrue interest because (as we were told) "it will all be paid off on your fifth year anyway". How illegal is that I wonder?

Thank you for an accurate article that depicts the whole story. The collapsing economy became the perfect scap goat for this program, but your article shows that the subterfuge and dishonesty extend all the way back to 2002. Never mind our wonderful state government that took all of the money to balance the budget.

People constantly attack teachers for relying on these loans. They don't seem to understand that almost all of these teachers are second career seekers, that needed master's degrees to get into the field. We were also heavily "recruited" into teaching by the promise of this loan forgiveness program. I was heavily recruited in 2005, and have now come to find out the program was already on its last leg then. I took out a loan for 19k, the cost of the masters program. I worked 40 hours a week and went to school 10 hours a week for 15 months. My reward is a low paying job, and having my loan forgiveness pulled from under me, oh and people attacking me and saying I took out a loan irresponsibly, probably while I'm teaching your children, grand-children ,or will be teaching them in the future.

Thanks for highlighting this story. This article is the best and most accurate that I have seen written so far! It is amazing to see just how much KHESLC made each year with the 9.5 scandal. I also find it interesting that Kentucky took roughly the same amount of the illegal 9.5 money as KHESLC made with the 9.5 loan recycling. Maybe that is why Kentucky continues to try so hard to hide the truth about what really happened. Thanks for helping uncover the true story.

As an educated person, I understand the economy and a balanced budget are important. As an ethical person, I believe that when a promise is made, it should be followed through to completion. I was very excited when I heard about the Best in Class program for special education teachers. It was too good to be true. Before jumping on the bandwagon, my husband contacted The Student Loan People and talked to them extensively about the program and asked many questions. He spoke with one of their representative for almost an hour to make sure he understood all aspects of the program.

At the end of the conversation he was told that the benefits of the Best in Class program would always be available as long as I was teaching special education. We could even consolidate his loans in with my mine, he is also an educator, and as long as I continued to teach special education, they would forgive 20% a year. The phone operator even went on to talk about once we had children and they were in college, if I was still teaching special education, the Best in Class program would forgive those loans at a rate of 20% a year. Since we didn’t have any children yet (and the operator was made aware of this through the discussions), this led us to believe in the longevity of the program. This was guaranteed, his words, not ours.

Through these guarantees my husband and I decided to continue our education. We are now both students at EKU. Before we began this journey, one of the professors asked us how we would be able to afford to complete this program together. We explained to him the Best in Class program. He looked into it as well and was enthusiastic for us and even referred the program to other educators.

Then the wind was knocked out of our sails when we received a letter that no new loans as of last summer would be eligible and that they would continue to do their best to support the program and the promises made before that time. Yes, we received a little over $900 of forgiveness, but not what was guaranteed. Now my husband and I face over $700 a month in school loan payments. We have always been fiscally responsible. We pay all bills on time or early. We live within our means, but this additional unplanned for expense could be a breaking point for us. We would have made different educational choices if this program had not been guaranteed.

Thank you for reporting the whole story to the public.

Thank you for bringing the truth to light. The hardship that this situaton has brought me deserves THE TRUTH. The financial burden of paying off loans for a life of service to today's youth, with pay that is well below what the standard should be for educating tomorrow's leaders, is heart wrenching. I entered into this program with good FAITH and would have been unable to fulfill the financial obligations without this program and would therefore been unable to pursue a teaching career. I am now left with such debt that with teacher's salary I will have to take drastic measures to survive financially. I am glad that more honesty was spoken in this last publication. Thank you!

I am from Michigan. I moved to Kentucky when I learned that I could work toward a Master's in Teaching and have the benefits of the Best in Class loan cover my program expenses. It was not a rash decision! Needless to say, I too share a debt-burden like thousands of other teachers in our state of Kentucky due to the "rule changing" that has happened midway through my program. When promises are made that are built on layers of deception, selfish interest, and illegal pilfering, our government (which is set up to help protect its people) needs to take a stand for what is morally and ethically right. However, they need the accurate details to adequately leverage for justice. I am glad that this article places the truth into the hands of those who can and should act for the sake of those who've been wronged. Good job!

I am also a teacher in Kentucky affected by "Best in Class." Thank you for clarifying any misconceptions people may have had regarding Best in Class benefits. This article tells the real story behind the Best in Class and what has happened. Thank you for printing this story.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ARTICLE!

I am the parent of a KY Best in Class teacher.
She struggles with a chronic illness DAILY, struggles to pay off her student loans that she acquired getting her BS degree, mother of two and wife, took the bait and accomplished her part of the BEST IN CLASS program so that she might do what her passion in life is......
TO TEACH!!! Now they will probably face financial ruin if she does not get some help with the loans from the Master's in Special Education.

AS one of those Kentucky teachers who is now wondering what she is going to do with my student loans now due, thank you for getting to the bottom of the story.

I am another KY teacher that has been done wrong by KHESLC and the Best in Class program. I worked in retail for many years until four years ago. Colleges in this state recruited many of us to come to their college because there were needs in Science, Math, and Special Education. I was told the "Best in Class" would pay for my college when I got a teaching job, so I did. Now, I'm stuck with all that debt, and KHESLC is calling and harassing me at work to start making payments, which I can't afford. So, thank you guys so much for this article. We need all the support we can get to show how Kentucky has done us wrong.

This article has shown light into what is really driving many of the teachers who are demanding answers for this program. The idea that all we want is a handout and for the government to come and take away our problems is absurd. Our biggest issue is that the Student Loan Company and KHELSC took advantage of our situations to further their profit margins. Now that the scheme is gone, we teachers are left in the shadows with debt that was promised not to be around. While I applaud the NYT for their article and shedding light on our situation, I also challenge them to take this information and continue their story on our plight.

I read your article and I really enjoyed hearing what people are doing about student loan debt. I also wanted to introduce myself and the program we started in Pittsburgh to address this problem.

We reward community service leadership with student loan payments. We just finished our first program and are gearing up for the next program in August.

SponsorChange.org

Higher Ed Watch again, you are my hero.

My research is revealing that Middle Class America is starting to wake up to the fact that by getting a college education, even for altruistic purposes like teaching our precious young, they've been ensnared by the new form of indentured servitude. The Middle Class fell for the blame and the hype (from bankers and thus from Congress and different forms of media) about fighting harder to get better jobs and taking responsibility when they faced default to avoid it. The Middle Class even fell for the hype about going to community and technical college to get educated, instead of getting a full college education. Those are not real solutions for this horrible problem. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, and engineers don't come from community colleges. Even secretaries need a 4 year college education now.

This Debt Nation allowed the bankers to bamboozle them in the student loan arena. For all other types of contracts, both parties must mitigate the damages to the contract. In the student loan contract context, that would mean that there would be no tax event at the end of an income contingent payment arrangement; bankruptcy protection; and a statute of limitations at the very least. It is not enough to just tell borrowers to find better jobs or work at a dangerous school or face bombs and bullets or else face a lifetime of debt. For student loans, all contractual concepts are thrown out of the window--including getting your day in court to discuss the lender's or the government's negligence, deception, or corruption. If you have student loans, you can't afford a full day in court--that's why you got the loans in the first place! And that's why this set up fits the description of indentured servitude rather than a real and true contract.

Now the middle class can see the banking industry grabbed absolute power over student loans and will not let go even though it will cripple our economy for generations. We've never been in this situation before so we are only just waking up to the fact that after the wars end, even with socialized healthcare, even after regulations are returned to the banking and insurance industry, even after protection from predatory credit cards is put in place, we still won't be able to afford much because we're weighed down by our own student loan debt or our children's. We won't be able to help ourselves or our struggling children reach higher and dream bigger. Meanwhile, the children are learning fast to let their elders fall by the wayside so they can take care of themselves. If they don't, they will be burdened by eldercare, student loan payments, and child care. That will be the end of American culture as we have known it. Our economy can't do much with a middle class made of indentured servants, so we cannot sustain the student loan method of paying for college.

The real suffering hasn't begun yet, but it's coming right along with even higher tuition. Most likely, it will come in the form of very slow national economic growth (which is why we let people buy homes who couldn't afford them in the first place--the banks saw this day of reckoning coming) and the Obama Administration will have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to save us. I think we are in agreement that we need as many as are willing to attend college. We've been reminded that an educated population is better able to safeguard the country, which is why aid to the middle and lower middle class fell under the category of national defense in the 1960s. But if that educated population is crippled by debt then their retirement plans will suffer (so we'll need even more Social Security benefits), they won't be able to pay for college for their children (which was expected of college graduates), they will be physically and mentally sickened by long term high debt burdens (so healthcare costs increase or the drug culture expands), they will have to work whereever the money takes them (loss of free will and free choice), and they will grow dangerously desperate (because we are already leading lives of quiet desperation in this economy). That is indentured servitude.

To get a higher education than grade school, most of the middle class has borrowed over the last 15 years and will borrow over at least the next ten years because of rising tuition. That combination will create 2-3 generations of Middle Class Americans who are repaying student loans simultaneously. The banks are loving it. It's a goldmine with few who will benefit from all that gold. Sure, the banks will throw out a bone in the form of some weak program that covers only a precious few. And yes, banks will continue to lend to students outside of the FFELP program as they did before. It's just too lucrative. For example, the income-contingent and forbearance options are not options for any sane borrower because of the tax event at the end. Income contingent borrowers will have to use their retirement savings to pay the tax. And switching to the Direct Loan program serves future students, not the graduates suffering now. Yet, the solutions seem so easy: restore the statute of limitations and bankruptcy protections. The taxpayers will have to take a loss. The federal balance sheet will have to be adjusted. But it's a smaller loss now than the inevitable loss in the future--because how do you expand a job market when everyone is working for a few big companies with no job security?

Applebaum (see Facebook) suggests we erase the student loan debt to stimulate the economy. That is a bigger federal budget bite than restoring bankruptcy protection. But someone who has $1,000 payments per month could start or fund a business with that much disposable income. That's how we created jobs in the past. The only job security that exists now is having the ability to create new jobs. Bankers and tax payers alike profit from job creation. The only argument against Applebaum appears to be that because some found a way to pay their way out of indentured servitude, it's not fair to release those who remain. Well, our forefathers freed indentured servants before in America. We can and should do it again. What is the alternative?

Thank you for making the "Best in Class" loan issue more understandable to the public. I feel the government should try to cover the teacher's student loans that were promised to them earlier. Teachers have one of the toughest careers; and one of the lowest paid careers; making it undesirable to many people. Therefore, with the student loan forgiveness "Best in Class" incentive more people did venture into going back to college to teach in the math, science and special needs areas qualifying them for this program.

Teachers have the most influential careers on the lives of our young children. They deserve more recognition not only in the student loan forgiveness program; but as people that are shaping the future of this country. In order to get the qualified, responsible and caring teachers more incentives must be offered to help them know that teachers have a promising future. It is absolutely disgraceful
for the government to take what bit of stipend that was promised to them away making their lives even harder to manage. I fear our most qualified teachers will be forced to find another career in order to pay off their student loans made while becoming the teachers the state of Kentucky so desperately needs.

The truth behind the Best in Class debacle is just one more example of us teachers being thought of as second class citizens instead of the professionals we were told we would become.

I want to thank the author and this journal for publishing more details about this story. I was bothered by the NY Times article and several comments posted by readers implying that we (I too am a teacher affected by this) recklessly took out loans expecting something for nothing. I understand about being responsible and not living above my means. I took out only what I needed to earn my degree. The facts remain that this program and advocates of it recruited us to use this as a means to get our degrees. We were promised forgiveness in exchange for our service to students. The state and federal governments took advantage of this situation and now refuse to step up and acknowledge that or "fix" it. Thank you for your efforts to bring out the real truth.

Thank you for bringing this matter to the forefront. I was also led into believing my loan would be forgiven. I gave up a highly successful business career to go back to school and get my masters in education. In order for me to pay back these loans, I am going to either quit teaching or work two jobs. It is a shame that this has happened. I have made great strides with the students this year. Most of my students are from a poverty strictened area and most do not have a man in their life except for me in the classroom. If I have to leave teaching to pay back these loans, there are going to be many students that will have to go on without a man in their life. I sincerely hope that this issue gets resolved.

This doesn't affect me, but my daughter. She was expecting her loans to be paid off as promised. Now she is over $40,000 in debt.She just bought a house, and with the required loan payment, money will be tight. She was encouraged by high school counselors, Student Loan People, and even me to take out these loans because of Best in Class promises. This is totally unfair and something must be done to help all these teachers. I am a teacher myself, and we already make sacrifices in our profession. Promises were made and should be kept.

I, too, am greatly affected by the Best in Class program. I left the corporate world to finish my degree and came to teaching to answer "the call" our state asked for - and felt that the forgiveness program would be beneficial. I was newly divorced with three small children at the time and promised that my loans would be forgiven after five years of working as a teacher in the state of Kentucky. The MOST I received in loan forgiveness was under $1,000.00 for one year. I held high grades and received several scholarships because of my grades. As a teacher, it is required that I complete a Master's Program to keep my job but am not aided in those costs, either - even though it is a job requirement. I have accumulated a balance of $50,000 - between my undergrad and graduate work and have had to take out an additional life insurance policy to cover the majority of the loan payback, so my children won't be saddled with this debt. Right now, at almost 52 years of age, and having taught in Kentucky for five years, I am completing my graduate program this fall. I have two children in college and a stepson beginning college this fall. It is disheartening to know that I answered "the call" to help out and have been left out in the cold to try to figure out how to repay loans after I have upheld my end of the agreement.

I sincerely hope this can and will be resolved - if I was the one who reneged on the agreement it would be an entirely different situation; however that is not the case in my situation or in hundreds of others in Kentucky.

With all the bad press, and now the DOE demanding millions of dollars in overpayments back from Kentucky's Student Loan People it is awfully difficult not to support the end to the private sector providing student loans. It can only be imagined that we will go to direct federal lending, and then maybe over time once the obvious graft, corruption, and ineptness of organizations such as the Kentucky Student Loan People is corrected then maybe we can re-look a return to privatized student loan lending, but with heavy regulation, and oversight. I was one of the teachers burned by the Student Loan People in their Best in Class debacle. I believe that for us borrowers it might be a very good thing if the DOE would take back the money they gave to the Student Loan People thus hopefully saving the state of Kentucky a lot of money, giving the inept Student Loan People an out, and giving the DOE an opportunity to un do a serious wrong. Some people here in Kentucky are just happy to see The Student Loan People get their due, but personally I just want to see that those of us who were hurt by The Student Loan People's Best In programs debacle get what we were promised and guaranteed by The Student Loan People in the first place.

Thank you so much! I am a Kentucky teacher who thought I was taking advantage of a wonderful opportunity. Instead, I was cheated by our government, state and federal, and I find myself in a situation I was initially promised I wouldn't be in like many fellow teachers and nurses throughout the state of Kentucky. This article is accurate, and it attempts to get to the bottom of things. Again, thank you!

Now, it's time for someone in the right position to fix this mess. State blames federal and federal's blaming the state. Regardless, is there no politician out there that values upholding promises? There are thousands of teachers and nurses stuck in a financial mess, because no one has the backbone to fix this mess the government created. It's ridiculous. Misleading potential teachers and nurses into taking loans out with a promise of them being paid off over time then taking away the very incentive that sealed their decision a few years down the road (immediately for some applicants!). That's criminal. We won't be happy until the 20% loan forgiveness each year is upheld. It's time for someone in a position of power, state or federal, to truly fight for Kentucky teachers and nurses. When I hear politicians speak of how 'we need to fight for teachers', I cringe. Here's a perfect situation to 'fight for Kentucky teachers', yet they'd rather place blame in other places than truly uphold their promises.

Thank you so much for this very informative article. I, too, was misled into believing that my student loans would be forgiven 20% each year for five years in return for my public service of teaching in a critical shortage area in a Kentucky school. This promise of loan forgiveness is one major reason I decided to enter the education field, leaving behind a higher paying job in order to teach and make a difference in lives of students in Kentucky. Now I am struggling to make ends meet, and I am forced to consider returning to my previous line of work in order to pay off my student loans. It is a sad time for education in Kentucky.

I am one of those many teachers impacted by the loss of this program. I decided to better my chances of getting a job by furthering my education and was encouraged to go into special education since I had prior work in children's homes with special needs. I struggled with how I would pay for it one class at a time and how long it would take me to get through the program. I was told about Best in Class and all that it would offer. I spent the last ten years in the classroom, beginning as a substitute teacher and working my way up to finishing my program. As a single mother, my two children often attended those night classes with me as I had no one to watch them and they could not stay alone. Now after ten years of service, I find that they are not going to be able to honor the programs original statements and I am left trying to pay back loans I did not bargin on. I tried on two occasions to start the forgiveness earlier into my program. I was told by those answering the phone that if I started forgiveness prior to finishing my classes, only the ones that were on the books would be counted in the forgiveness. They would only do the percentage on what loans I had out. Thus I could end up owing at the end if I did not wait until I was done with my program. That was obviously not good advice either. What frightens me now is that I will still be trying to figure out how to pay off my loans four years from now when my own two kids are trying to get into college on my pathetic income and a ton of debt.

Thanks for getting this information out in the article so people know the truth about how all this happened.

I am another Kentucky teacher that is now burried in debt due to the "Best in Class" loan. I was financially stable with my head well above water until I went back to school for a degree in special education. I NEVER would have gone back if this loan had not been available. Kentucky was so desperate for teachers that they offered this to get us all in there and then left us high and dry on our minimal salaries. I don't have an extra $492 a month for the next 9.9 years to pay for their false promises and budgeting mistakes.

Thank you for covering this ongoing story and investigation. My wife and I both went back to school to go into education and now it seems like a terrible decision given the events that have unfolded. Kentucky will lose many highly qualified educators if something is not done soon!

Thank you for your article. I am a KY teacher whose life has been changed by this situation. As a single mother that went back to grad school b/c of this forgiveness, I can barely keep my house with these massive student loan payments that were supposed to be forgiven! I am optismistic due to articles like this and the dedication of so many who are trying to find a solution............

I am a teacher in Kentucky that has felt the impact of the Best in Class cuts. I appreciate you helping us to make others aware that we are not getting what we were promised. I love teaching, but it will be hard to stay in this profession when I have this student loan debt. Thanks again for telling the rest of the story!

Once again--"Promises unkept". While our government bails out millionaire bonus recipients--Middle class teachers get the shaft. A promise is a promise. We (teachers) fulfilled our part of the bargain and it's time for government to fulfill their part. We as teachers(and VOTERS)need to take note of those for us and those that are against us. We can "cancell" them out as well---at the voter booth

I want to thank you for this informative article. I consider myself a finanacially responsible individual. Once I got a teaching job, I began making payments on my loans even though I was promised they would be completely forgiven by my 5th year of teaching. If I had it to do over again, I would have saved money and paid cash for my classes. It would have taken longer to get my special education teaching certificate, but I wouldn't have started my teaching career (making $25,000 a year) with almost $15,000 of student loan debt. Special education teachers are a rare breed, and most of us dedicate a significant amount of time, energy, and money providing for our students both in and out of the classroom. The Best in Class Program was an incentive to get us into the classroom. But what good are incentives if there is no follow through. If we made promises to our students, yet didn't hold up our end of the bargain, what reason would they have for living up to our expectations?

Thank you so much for discussing our plight at such detail and accuracy. We have been blatantly lied to by governmental institutions and feel deceived. They have mishandled this money designed to encourage students to become teachers so that our state will no longer lose its best to surrounding states. Unfortunately, too, there is much indifference in our state legislators. This "indifference" to our struggles will not be forgotten at the next election.

Thank you for writing this article to inform readers that so many teachers were promised for loan forgivness and now hurting even more in these hard economic times. I love my job and am trying to sale other things so I don't have to change jobs. Federal regulation require that teachers be "highly qualified" and I am with my under grad in special ed, two masters in general education and special education yet I am penalized by this "promise" to make me a better educator. Please help the teachers who worked hard to meet the requirements set.

I am a Best in Class recipient as well. I did my research and called several times to ensure that I had all the information correct. We truly would have 20% of our loans forgiven for each year of service.I could even deal with the discontinuation of the program if they had honored the loans which had already been taken out but to discontinue mid-stream and insinuate that it was in the fine print is unforgivable. The article very clearly explained exactly what happened. It should absolutely be made right. I am so disappointed that are government has allowed this to happen. Thank you for putting the information out there for all the voters to see.

Thank you for for getting to the truth. As a teacher nearing the close of a 33 year career, it would be wonderful not to have to pay any more student loans! Please keep the pressure on.

I too am a teacher who was depending on the promises of Best in Class to help cover the loans necessary to become a special education teacher. I left the business world to go back to my first love -- teaching. I am now a special education teacher who specializes in children with functional mental disabilities in a rural school district. I love my job and my kids --but, since I am 58 years old, I will have to pay back over $25,000 in loans over the next 10 years. This means that if for any reason I have to retire before I am almost 70, I will have to make these huge payments out of my Social Security or school retirement check. I won't be able to afford to retire. I took these loans in good faith that the lenders would do what they promised-they will certainly make sure that I do my part. There are not a lot of us FMD teachers around and with the high cost of education and empty promises from student loan programs-that apparently will not change.

I am also one of the teachers in the middle of this mess. I was promised 20% forgiveness for each year I taught. I've just completed my fourth year and still have a hefty amount of debt. I was counting on Best in Class to help relieve some of the strain of student loans.

Thank you so much for this article. Having to pay back student loans that were promised to be forgiven has had such a negative impact on our family finances. We made decisions that we otherwise would not have made had we known this was going to happen. I am having to do an income sensitive plan right now which is only paying less than $10.00 on the principle. I hope there is help for us sometime soon.

I am thrilled to see that our plight has gotten the publicity it deserves ... finally. The Student Loan People promised me that they would repay my loans, and there was never any doubt that in my mind. As a matter of fact, I called more than 5 times and made sure that I spoke to different people each time, just to make sure that I understood the program. Now we are finding out that they broke the law, and took advantage of its clients and the government. My loan payments are almost $600 a month, and my husband's are about the same (he was also part of the SLP Best in Class Program). Loan payments this high will force one, or both of us, into a new career. I teach special education and I serve students who have severe disabilities, and it is those kids who are going to suffer. That makes me very sad!

I continue to read about all of the student loan scandals. Yet, there really is no true recovery or bailout for student loan holders (federal and private). Graduates lives are ruined and the government and schools continue to shove new loans down student's throats. They do this knowing that these kids will never be able to pay them back.

I, like so many other KY teachers, was told in very clear and persuasive terms that as a special education teacher in KY loans taken out through the Student Loan People would be completely and totally repaid after five years. I originally considered going back to school as a 30-something mother of five to teach History, and was convinced that the repayment would enable me to achieve my dream of teaching without disrupting my family finances. I spoke several times with the SLP office, the financial aid office at the University, and past borrowers who assured me that their loans had been paid off just as promised. The political wranglings of KHESLC, the state of KY, and the federal government have little impact on them - they put the families in the middle. I have now taught for three full years and have had a grand total of 3% of my loans repaid for me - I have far exceeded that figure in interest payments! I have done my part as a special education teacher with the most challenging students in my district. I have done my job. It is only fair that somebody step in and be the voice of reason to those in positions of power whose motivation lies more in covering their own misdeeds that correcting them. I call on these politicians to set aside their egos, and remember their promises. We teachers certainly have kept ours.

Thank you for writing an article providing clarity to the BEST IN CLASS disaster. I thought I was very thorough in my research when attempting to verify the soundness of the loan forgiveness program. I was assured I would have 20% of my loans forgiven for each year of service. The loans taken out through the Student Loan People would be completely and totally repaid after five years of teaching in special education. The unfairness can't be measured and I am living a nightmare. I was responsible and fulfilled my commitment as a professional educator in the state of Kentucky.

I had never heard of Best-In-Class until a financial aid officer told me that I was eligible for this program and the loan forgiveness. I called KHEAA (KY Higher Education Assistance Authority) and the SLP (Student Loan People)to verify what I was told. I remember that I kept asking the KHEAA gentleman to send me an application for the program and he told me that I had it backward. First, I must borrow the money only thru the SLP and then after I had completed a year of teaching in a shortage area, then I would request a form for forgiveness. I trusted the gentleman from KHEAA because this was an agency of state government telling me that Best-in-Class was a way for KY to thank teachers for all we do for the Commonwealth. There was no disclaimer mentioned nor do I recall seeing a disclaimer until I received the first forgiveness form and the disclaimer was at the bottom of the page. We are not an extravagant family and we have never borrowed outside our means. We trusted what KHEAA was telling us and felt that we had no reason to doubt that if I worked as a special education teacher for 5 years then our debt would be paid. When I read the pleas of innocence from the employees of KHEAA and SLP, it makes me angry because when I called them following the letter that said the program had been cut, I was told that it was due to the CCRAA of 2007 and that I should call my congressman and lobby them for changes. I believed KHEAA and I wrote letters and called my congressman and state legislators. Now, as more information emerges, we are finding out about the 9.5% risky money and the $80 million raid on the program by Governor Fletcher. If KHEAA and SLP had done nothing wrong, why didn't they mention those issues when they were explaining why the program was cut? I do not want to be cynical about this situation but I do wonder what else there is to know. How did this agency spend their 9.5% revenue and is there a conflict of interest when a KY legislator is employed by the Student Loan People?Why was there no oversight by auditors about the risk to the borrowers due to the actions of SLP, KHEAA and Governor Fletcher? Thanks for listening and for digging for all the facts related to this madness.