Some School Districts Step in to Help Teachers Afford Local Housing

Across the nation, there are many communities where housing costs continue to outpace salaries and teachers don't earn enough to live near where they work, which is further exacerbating the teacher shortage in those communities, Route Fifty reports. 

As a result, some school districts are taking action to meet teachers' housing needs.

Eagle County, Colo., is one example. Housing costs in the county have risen dramatically over the last several years, according to Eagle County School District Superintendent Philip Qualman, with the average townhome or condo listed at $1.2 million in 2022. An educator with an annual salary of $50,000 simply can't afford a home there, and even renting is difficult. Over the last few years, Eagle County's school district has launched several initiatives to make housing more accessible to teachers, but now it's getting directly involved in providing homes.

A Colorado law allows developers of large housing developments to transfer land to school districts in lieu of school impact fees, Qualman said. That’s how Eagle County School District came to own several parcels of land, including 30 acres next to a county high school. In 2022, the district began building 37 units there, a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. 

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