What Are The Implications Of This?

“Carl Howard has taught school for six years, earned a master’s degree and almost has his Ph.D.
But he still can’t afford to buy a house in Orange County. His school district thinks that is wrong and is meeting today to start working on a plan to build houses or apartments just for teachers.”
From article: “Orange, Osceola school districts trying to build affordable communities for staff the Orlando Sentinel, by Erika Hobbs January 17, 2008.

This scenario is looming for others I’m afraid too. In the Reno, Nevada, area where I teach housing has skyrocketed to the point where teachers, especially new teachers, are left to wonder if they will ever be able to afford even the cheapest house. My wife and I made the decision to move to Reno 15 years ago because housing costs in the San Francisco Bat Area were so out-of-line that we knew we would never be able to purchase a home there. I took a $15,000 pay cut when we moved here and my wife, who was making more than I was, had just given birth and didn’t have a job and we were still able to afford a house here. NOT ANY MORE! We couldn’t afford to buy the house we’re in now if we had to buy in today’s market even though prices have fallen. Also from the article:

“Anecdotal evidence shows some of Orange’s teachers are struggling.
Howard, for example, can’t afford to live where he teaches, let alone buy a house anywhere in Orange County.
Instead, he commutes 20 minutes from his two-bedroom apartment in southwest Orange County to Blankner School in Orlando, burning up scarce dollars on gasoline.
Between student loans, car payments and other living expenses, it isn’t always easy to pay the $920 monthly rent on his $41,000 salary, even though he splits the cost with a roommate.”

There are many places in the country where this scene has been true for years. I think it is a sad commentary on how out-of-whack this economy is when teachers can’t afford any home in their community. What are the implications of this? Will more people be drawn into teaching when they see situations like this?

Learning is messy!

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3 thoughts on “What Are The Implications Of This?

  1. I’m glad someone is taking up the cause. At my school many teachers have an hour to three hour commute because they can’t afford to live in Los Angeles. It hits of course hardest in urban areas where teachers are in most need.

  2. WOW! This is interesting. I bet I could not afford to purchase the house I live in now based upon the current market.

  3. Hey… now thaqt I think about it… my school district has a program for teachers to rent apartments to new teachers.
    Joe