Teachers, Turnover, and Tenants

If you like what you hear today, sign up for my Substack newsletter.

If you have a story worth sharing, email me [email protected]

A few years ago, we hired a teacher from Texas, who struggled for months to find housing in Camden or Rockport, Maine. Despite two house hunting trips she found nothing. With her Texas home sold, she temporarily moved to Minnesota to stay with her father, while continuing her search. In mid-July, she arrived in Maine with her family and all her belongings, but still didn’t have a home. By early August, she was still empty-handed and was on the verge of declining the position. At the 11th hour, we located a rental property owned by a student’s parent narrowly averting a crisis.

This story echoes across the nation. Teacher housing for new hires has become a critical issue in many communities. Today I’m joined by two superintendents from diverse regions to discuss this challenge. Brent Jayco from Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District in Texas and Debbie Jones from Bentonville Schools in Arkansas. This is the first episode that we are recording using Zoom. All prior episodes have been recorded from the comfort of my office, so hopefully the sound quality won’t be significantly compromised