If you had a job in an area where your salary couldn’t even pay the rent, would you stick around?

Many school districts around the country are finding out the answer to this question the hard way, as their primary resource –- teachers -– leave high-growth places such as Silicon Valley and Aspen, Colo. in droves due to the high cost of living, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

With the performance of public schools a national issue, the second half of the equation is that good teachers are not only leaving certain regions, they're often leaving the field entirely. Statistics for California show that from one-third to one-half of new teachers leave the education field in the first five years. Fortunately, there may be a solution to these twin problems.

Several districts -- including the Aspen (Colo.) School District and the Santa Clara (Calif.) Unified School District -- are offering their teachers affordable housing.

These programs are now seen as vital to keeping good teachers, because rents in such areas can reach $1,000 a month or more, and teacher salaries can fall far short in terms of qualifying to buy a median-priced home, the newspaper reports.

In Aspen, home costs average $1 million and three-bedroom apartments rent for more than $2,500 a month. The school district is renting out condominiums and apartment at vastly reduced rates: a teacher can rent a three-bedroom apartment for only $1,300, and the district is starting to offer homes for sale through the same program.

The housing is making a difference, according to Aspen Superintendent Tom Farrell. He says at least six new teachers have been hired since the housing program launched, and they cited the program as a reason for taking the job.

This past year, 24 teachers resigned in Santa Clara because of housing costs and salary issues -- three times the number who left for the same reason last year, the Mercury News reports.

In response, the Santa Clara United district will build a 40-unit apartment complex. The San Francisco United School District also will build a 43-unit apartment for its teachers. Both California districts will get help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Boston and Seattle school districts also are studying the issue and may launch similar programs, the newspaper reports.

The apartment complexes won’t mean extra income for the school districts, although officials contend that the projects eventually will pay for themselves.

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teach061900.htm