Lack of housing contributing to teacher shortage crisis in Hawaii
Posted: February 11, 2022
Oahu public school educators are one step closer to accessing affordable housing made available to them after the state House committees on education and housing unanimously advanced a bill on the measure at a joint hearing on Thursday.
Hawaii’s high cost of living, coupled with teachers being chronically underpaid, contribute to educators leaving the profession in droves.
One of HSTA’s goals to help end Hawaii’s teacher shortage crisis is to develop and expand programs to retain teachers.
HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. wrote in his testimony in support of HB 2345 that financial incentives and affordable options for teacher housing can be an important strategy for the recruitment and retention of teachers, particularly given that teachers’ salaries in Hawaiʻi continue to trail the nation when adjusted for cost of living.
“To make ends meet, many teachers are forced to pick up second and third jobs, live in cramped studio apartments, and cut back on necessities like medical and dental care,” Tui said. “Thus they cannot devote their full attention to their students and the preparation of lessons and grading that they usually complete after school once their students have left for the day. Instead, they are rushing off to their second or even third jobs when they would much rather concentrate on their teaching duties and their students.”
The Hawaii State Department of Education supports the proposal and said that recruitment and retention have been long-standing issues, and according to interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi’s written testimony, those issues have “become a serious area of concern during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
Housing bill passes committees with amendments
House Bill 2345 would appropriate monies to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) to purchase fee simple interest or acquire an interest in a 12-acre property located in Ewa Beach, Oahu to develop affordable housing for educators. City property records show the land, at the corner of Iroquois Road and Keaunui Drive, is owned by Gentry Homes, Ltd.
Upon recommending to advance the bill, state House Education Committee Chair Justin Woodson (D, Kahului, Puunene) announced that some language will be struck out to allow some more flexibility as to how the land will be used, but the intention is for teacher affordable housing. He also said that several entities will be administering the program and eliminated language the designated administrative roles specifically for the HHFDC.
The bill notes that priority for housing will be given to public school classroom teachers at the beginning of their careers.
House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke (D, Makiki, Punchbowl, Nuuanu, Pauoa) and State Rep. Scot Matayoshi (D, Kaneohe, Maunawili, Olomana) co-introduced the measure.
The bill will next be heard by the House Finance Committee.