A huge lottery windfall in North Carolina could soon benefit teachers via a new bill that would use lottery profits to help educators pay off their student debt.
The bill, filed in the North Carolina House, would let teachers pay back a portion of their student loans, in exchange for a commitment to stay in the state.
House Bill 1031 would help establish the North Carolina Teacher HELP Fund, which would allow teachers to pay off loans in amounts up to $10,000. The money would come from over $38 million in proceeds from January's record Powerball jackpot.
In exchange, teachers would have to commit to staying in a North Carolina public classroom for at least four more years.
Forsyth County Democrat Ed Hanes is one of the bill's primary sponsors.
Hanes tells the Winston-Salem Journal the fund could help encourage teachers to come to or stay in North Carolina.
Forsyth County had 73 teacher vacancies at the end of March.
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