Teachers' Low-Interest Loans Promote "Smart Growth".

• Position: Brief Article

If they promise to stay on the job for at least three years, teachers can get low-interest home mortgages, courtesy of the Maryland General Assembly. Although school districts sometimes offer signing bonuses to teachers, Maryland is the first to provide low-interest home loans as an apple polisher.

In passing S 206, the legislature found a perk to help recruit and retain qualified teachers, especially in areas where the state is attempting to promote smart growth management. State bonds will be sold to pay for 5 percent home loans for teachers. Instructors whose household incomes are less than $91,000 a year and who are planning to purchase homes worth $180,000 or less will qualify for the mortgages. The program will extend eligibility to all teachers who have been hired within the past five years.

The loans are limited to...