Hawaii Wants to Build Houses for Teachers

Hawaii's legislature is considering measures to boost home building for teachers who struggle to meet mounting living costs and cannot afford to work in the profession.

Lawmakers believe exorbitant rents in particular are making it difficult to retain educators.

Home prices in Hawaii, like the rest of the country, have skyrocketed since the pandemic. The median price was $627,000 in April 2020, and as of January 2024, prices have leapt to about $851,000. Meanwhile, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu has shot up by 188 percent to nearly $4,000 a month, compared to a year ago.

The average entry level pay for a teacher in Hawaii is about $67,000 per year as of February 26, 2024, according to salary.com, though the range can vary between an estimated $56,000 and $82,000.

"The legislature finds that Hawaii continues to suffer from a shortage of licensed teachers, with over one thousand vacancies each year," according to a bill in Hawaii's House of Representatives. "Housing costs constitute a big portion of each teacher's paycheck."

"To recruit and retain effective educators, policymakers must find ways to lessen the financial burden of being a public school teacher," House Bill number 1631 says.

The bill aims to build on previous laws intended to build affordable housing for educators. One law, Act 172, passed regulations that gave schools the authority to "develop housing on or off campus and to appropriate funds for the construction of housing prioritized for teachers, educators, and staff."

The new bill is designed to provide the legislative runway needed to achieve this.

"Establishing a mandate for a plan to achieve the goals set forth in Act 172, complete with a timeline and set of specific metrics as indicators of progress as determined jointly by the school facilities authority and department of education, will enable the authority to carry out its mandates more efficiently," the new bill says.

Hawaii has struggled to retain teachers over the last few years. Over the last decade, the number of teachers leaving the state has soared by more than 70 percent, according to the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Inflation, with elevated shelter costs, is a key reason why teachers are struggling to pay for housing, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. It found found that in 15 of the country's 69 largest metro areas a one-bedroom rental is beyond what an early career teacher with an undergraduate degree can afford.

The move to help with housing costs for teachers follows other parts of the country that are looking to help incentivize educators by offering help with home costs, Axios has reported.

Meanwhile, another bill with a similar goal, is focused specifically on "hard-to-staff" schools. The 10 percent of state school teachers who change jobs or leave the profession altogether, cite high costs of living as the main reason for leaving these.

Housing bill number 2514 aims to help ameliorate high rents by establishing "a program to provide housing vouchers to qualified full-time teachers who are employed by the department of education and teach at a hard‑to‑fill school, as determined by the department, including public charter schools."

The assistance can go towards rent, mortgage payments or even a down payment for a home. The housing voucher will not exceed more than $500 a month, it said.

"A housing voucher granted pursuant to this section shall be applicable for one year. The voucher shall be renewable for one additional year," the bill says. "Upon the establishment of the teacher home assistance program, the corporation shall develop an application procedure and processes, procedures, and forms necessary to implement and maintain the program."