With teachers leaving the classroom due to financial stress, SchoolsFirst FCU prioritizes teacher wellbeing

CBS News

09-05-2025

SACRAMENTO — The week of May 5 marks Teacher Appreciation Week, and while you grab a Starbucks gift card or offer a "thank you" to the educators in your life, new data shows teachers are leaving the classroom at a high rate due to financial stress.
"Teaching is not the kind of job where it's over when the bell rings, because teaching is not what you do. It's who we are," said Lori Osborne, a sixth-grade teacher at Zehnder Ranch Elementary in Elk Grove.
Osborne is Elk Grove Unified's 2025 district teacher of the year.
"It just came naturally," she said of teaching.
It's now her 28th year in the classroom. The kids keep her going. After all, the day-to-day is not easy, and educators wear a lot of hats.
"I know it's been five years, but especially coming out of COVID, we really became all those things -- the teacher, the social worker, sometimes the parent. That does weigh on you," Osborne said. "Teacher burnout is a real thing."
A California Teachers Association report from January 2025 found that 40% of teachers in the state are leaving the profession due to financial stress.
Further, more than 90% are spending their own money on their students' needs, while 81% cannot keep up with the rising cost of groceries, housing and childcare.
"It's a sobering statistic. It does make us realize at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union just how critical our mission is. In some ways, it empowers us to fill that gap," said Josh Smith with SchoolsFirst FCU.
CBS13 asked SchoolsFirst FCU, the largest credit union in California: What's their mission? After all, they only serve educators and their families.
"Because their lives are unique, their needs are unique and we are focused on serving those," said Smith. "The fact is, it's never been harder to work in education than today."
The credit union offers a range of programs to help teachers financially, like offering no-interest loans and grants for needed classroom supplies and helping teachers plan for the summer months' pay gap.
"I preach SchoolsFirst from the rooftop for everything they've done for us. I tell everyone they need to be a member of SchoolsFirst if they are a member of the educational system," said Mary Gatejen, a retired teacher.
Gatejen was a teacher for 36 years in Sacramento and Elk Grove. She says SchoolsFirst has put her first for decades.
"It made a huge difference. I didn't have to panic in the summer, and I didn't have to worry that our rent was going to get paid or the bills get paid," Gatejen said.
The California Teachers Association also found that 84% of teachers cannot afford to live near the schools where they work.
While it has not been Osborne's experience in Elk Grove, she says her teacher friends in the Bay Area are experiencing that struggle.
"Unfortunately, I've heard of teachers living in their cars. I've heard of teachers that lived so far out, the commute was so long, it wasn't worth the drive," Osborne said.
As a first-time homebuyer at 28, Osborne got a home with no down payment thanks to SchoolsFirst.
Today, the credit union is working to fill the housing gap, offering home loans for teachers with a down payment as low as 5% and no private mortgage insurance.
"It's important because we need dedicated teachers. And it's not that people don't want to be dedicated, they can't afford to be dedicated, or they are working two and three jobs, working through the summer. It hurts the kids because kids need consistency," Gatejen said.
It's shining a light on supporting educators as they support students -- which protects the future of California classrooms.
"You can feel it when the kids get it. It's so rewarding. It's worth all the hard days when they get it," said Osborne, about why she loves teaching students.
For more information on SchoolsFirst FCU and its programs for teachers, visit their website.