New Bill Proposes $25K Tuition and Student Loan Assistance for Essential Workers

Student Loan $25K Tuition: Ahsha Safaí, a supervisor for District 11 and a mayoral candidate for San Francisco, is suggesting that some first responders have their $25,000 in student loan debt forgiven in the face of staffing issues.

To tackle the issue of the city’s difficulty in recruiting first responders, including police, nurses, and 911 dispatchers, Safaí is suggesting the creation of a new $1 million fund that would forgive up to $25,000 in student loan debt for first responders who are hired and work for three years.

The fund would cover any outstanding student loan debt that newly hired employees had before working for the city, as well as any expenses related to training and education necessary for their jobs but not currently covered by benefits.

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Since the idea needs board approval, Safaí is likely to present it during Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors. This summer, a vote on the plan is anticipated. Newsweek requested a comment via email from Safaí’s office.

Safaí indicated that in addition to “looking for cost savings” within the police department budget, the charity would be used to support the law, as per a San Francisco Chronicle report published on Saturday.

“If we want to see more sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and police officers, we have to put the incentives in place to recruit people and retain them,” Safaí told the Chronicle. “If you come in with debt, we’re going to help support you, support your family and help with the sacrifices you’ve made to be part of the city and county.”

Furthermore, Safaí has cautioned that the city is ill-prepared to handle public safety concerns and deliver essential civic services due to manpower shortages.

“I’ve talked to firefighters and paramedics and sheriff’s deputies. What I hear over and over again is they need more support and incentives to do these difficult jobs. The best way to recruit people is by word of mouth. When you show people that they are taken care of, that will spread and they’ll know we are elevating and prioritizing them,” he told the newspaper.

The proposal is made as the San Francisco mayoral election is still ongoing, with incumbent London Breed, former mayor Mark Farrell, philanthropist Daniel Lurie, and District 3 supervisor Aaron Peskin competing against Safaí. On Wednesday, the first mayoral debate was held.

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But Lurie attacked the other candidates during Wednesday’s debate, claiming that none of the politicians on stage seemed to be able to address the issues the city is facing, including staffing shortages. Safaí is not the only mayoral candidate to draw attention to the vacancy problems the city is facing among first responders.

“We need a fully staffed police department. We need a fully staffed sheriff’s department. 911 dispatch office also needs to be fully staffed. And, frankly, the last two mayors have underwhelmed on this issue,” Lurie said.

San Francisco has roughly 1,870 open posts, or an 8.2% citywide vacancy rate, according to the Department of Human Resources. In the past 12 months, the city has added approximately 10,000 new staff members.

Peskin is also attempting to address the issue of vacancies by proposing the creation of a fund that would erase up to $100,000 in school debt for newly hired officers over five years. New hires would be eligible for an annual $20,000 loan forgiveness program as long as they remain on the force.

The Chronicle claims that Peskin is open to cooperating with Safaí and maybe merging the bills.  “These things are not mutually exclusive, and once we figure it out, we can see if they can work together. But the devil is in the details,” Peskin said.