By Alyssa Scott
KU Statehouse Wire Service
When Seth and Rachael Cavenee moved to Greeley County about two years ago to start a family, they didn’t realize the move could reduce their student debt.
Seth graduated from Wichita State University in 2007, and Rachael completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Northern Colorado before earning her doctorate from WSU in 2013. When they moved to Greeley County, they became eligible for Kansas’ Rural Opportunity Zones program, which provides assistance in paying back student loans.
As a part of the ROZ program, individuals who move to designated rural Kanas counties have the opportunity to earn student loan repayments of up to $15,000 over the course of five years. Although the program has only been in place since July 2011, there is evidence that this incentive could encourage individuals to continue living rurally even after completing the repayment program.
The Cavenees found out about the program shortly after moving to Greeley County and said they plan to live in rural Kansas after they complete their five years and earn their full repayments.
“My husband and I are planning on staying here permanently,” Rachael Cavenee said. “My husband farms, so it’s highly beneficial that we were able to live here and take advantage of this program to have that financial support and less stress for our family.”
The ROZ program was established to increase population in rural Kansas through offering financial incentives. The student loan repayment portion of the program spans 70 counties, which choose to opt into the program. The expenditures from the student loan repayments are shared equally by the state and the county. To be eligible for the repayments, individuals must earn an associate, bachelor’s or post-graduate degree and move to a designated county from either within Kansas or from other states.
In the first year the program was offered, 172 people applied. Over the years the program has grown, with 740 people applying in 2014 and 376 receiving approval. Nearly 2,200 have applied for the ROZ program since it began.
Cori Woelk, a resident from Greeley County, decided to take advantage of the student loan repayments and just completed her first year of the program.
Although she is originally from western Kansas, she earned her master’s degree in Oklahoma and worked there for almost five years before returning to Kansas where she works as a sales representative for a company dealing with agricultural chemicals.
“I started trying to get back to Kansas through work, and it was definitely a program within our community, Greeley County, that was highlighted obviously because of the need and trying to draw people back to rural Kansas,” Woelk said. “I think the biggest benefit of programs like this is it provides people to areas that definitely need a boost in population. If we want our communities to survive we have to be proactive, and I think this is a step toward that.”
Although people such as Woelk think a ROZ program is crucial to preserving rural Kansas, senators questioned its effectiveness in a February hearing. Chris Harris, Kansas Department of Commerce program manager, made a presentation about ROZ to the Senate Commerce Committee. Since then, the House Taxation Committee held a hearing in March for House Bill 2298 where there were no opponents but several proponents who supported extending the program and funding. Harris said there has been no action since that hearing. The fiscal note of HB 2298 reported that Kansas spends about $1 million annual on the ROZ program.
“Our goal is to attract young and talented residents to rural communities across Kansas,” Harris said. “The student loan repayments have been a very compelling tool that rural counties have used to initiate conversations with interested individuals, recruit them to their respective communities and then retain them once they are there.”
Harris said individuals live in the community for about a year before receiving their first payment. They are then required to remain living in the county for five years to be eligible for the five annual payments, which are worth up to $3,000 for an overall total of $15,000. Since the program has not been in place long enough for any of the participants to be finished, the KDOC is tracking participants to see if these individuals plan on living in rural counties after completing the program.
“We have been tracking just through asking individuals and participant surveys and this indicates very strong interest in moving into rural counties,” said KDOC Spokesman Matt Keith. “At this point we do have a very good idea that a lot of those individuals using this program want to live in rural Kansas and this sort of helps them get started there.”
Harris said almost 60 percent of ROZ participants have already purchased or built homes in the designated rural communities and others are currently looking for housing. Seventeen percent of participants have started new businesses in these communities.
“Early results have shown that these individuals are opting to remain in the community long-term,” Harris said. “It is our belief that an individual that lives in the community for five years has a high probability of remaining in that community. Several trends would seem to support this assertion.”
Rachael Cavenee is part of the 17 percent of participants who have contributed to these rural areas by starting a new business. She opened an audiology practice in the city of Tribune in Greeley County.
“This program has helped me start paying back student loans while starting my own business,” Rachael Cavenee said. “I think that with starting a business and having a husband who is self-employed, this has opened doors for us.”
Seth Cavenee said he was interested in the program because he was originally from Tribune, so it was a goal of his to live and work there after starting a family.
“It’s especially helpful for younger individuals who are wanting to start a family because it makes this more viable,” Seth Cavenee said. “The program definitely helps me be capable of being self-employed and being able to support my family this way without needing to take on a second job.”
Harris said many program participants are similar to Seth Cavenee as they often have a connection to rural life. He said demographics show that participants are typically between the ages of 24 and 35 and have recently earned at least an undergraduate degree.
In the past ROZ has partnered with Love Small Town America, a resource that aims to increase awareness of small towns through giving them an Internet presence. Nicole Godek, CEO of LSTA, said it is important for the government to continue providing opportunities like the programs ROZ offers.
“I think in general it’s time that we start focusing on smaller communities because as we’ve seen in Kansas, quite a few of them have lost population,” Godek said. “While we can do things on a local level, I think the government really needs to step in and provide incentives, otherwise no one will hear about it or move back to these communities.”
Alyssa Scott is a University of Kansas junior from Wichita majoring in journalism and French.