Here's an idea: rent free housing for teachers

[CTyankee]

This is being explored in New Haven to attract and retain good teachers. I think it's wonderful. As a homeowner in New Haven I am so proud of my city for doing this.

[HeartsCanHope]

1. What a lovely and innovative idea!

When I taught there were lots of fellow teachers that could have used this starting out. Many new teachers moved into houses together to save on bills. When they got a little experience many of them moved to larger districts for better salaries. You couldn't blame them--salaries in Missouri were and are way too low to live comfortably in many districts. This idea is fantastic, and should be adopted everywhere!

[CTyankee]

2. I know. And I had never thought of it.

I hope that when we are finally rid of Trump and his support dries up except for the politically insane, we can have an outburst of creativity in thinking about our social ills and come up with great ideas such as this!

[NJCher]

3. Newark, NJ has that

It is a highrise. Ill see if i can find more about it and post back later.

[fujiyamasan]

4. This may be the only way to keep teachers in some districts

Especially in HCOL areas like in SoCal, where teachers often can’t afford to live in the district or near the schools they teach in.

I didn’t watch the video. How is it funded? Is it property taxes?

[Tree Lady]

5. My friends daughter n law

And husband live in Bar Harbor Maine. She is new teacher and he has odd jobs so not a lot of funds. Last 3 summers they lived in small trailer and worked at campground because rent is so high there. After summer people leave they have a house rental for 7 months.

I just heard she got new position on mainland so hoping they can find better housing. In expensive areas something has to be done.

[CTyankee]

8. I don't know. I'll try to find out and get back to you. Or perhaps Google knows!

[MichMan]

6. Why not just pay them enough in the first place?

[Igel]

7. Might be cheaper to give them free rent than increase pay for their mortages/insurance/taxes ...

Note https://www.tasb.org/news-insights/districts-use-subsidized-housing-to-attract-retain-teachers .

[MichMan]

9. Is the free rent taxable as income?

[ihaveaquestion]

10. Probably... but my law degree is from Law & Order and they mostly covered rapes and murders. nt

[ihaveaquestion]

11. My concern for this would be that the teachers would be beholden to the school district...

and not feel free to express their own views in the classroom.

[CTyankee]

12. I see what you mean. It's a wise fear. But New Haven has consistently been a liberal leaning town. I know that can

change, however. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty....

[SickOfTheOnePct]

15. They shouldn't really...

…be expressing their own views in the classroom.

[ihaveaquestion]

19. There are lots of views and opinions that teachers have which they should be allowed to express.

Such as:

Evolution is a scientific fact,
Trickle down economics is BS,
The Confederacy lost the US Civil War,
Women and men are equal
Etc. etc. etc.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

20. Those are facts, not "views" n/t

[ihaveaquestion]

24. Of course they are to you and me. But to the RW nutters they are "liberal lies" and must be suppressed.

The point is that there's always someone who might try to censor ideas and points of view. Hence the original point of tenure.

[TnDem]

25. Correct

Somebody once sang "Every point of refuge has its price"

[flvegan]

13. Who owns the "rent free housing" they're living in?

Is it city/county/state owned, is it someone with excess housing to share or a tax writeoff, or is it the usual friend no-contract bidder who will make a mint off of the taxpayer? Sorry so cynical, but can you blame me?

And no, I'm not against the idea of rent free housing for teachers. I love it. I just want to know who is paying "the rent" and to whom and how much.

[CTyankee]

17. I copy/pasted this from the web page

The
Friends Center for Children in New Haven launched an initiative in 2021 to provide rent-free housing for its teachers. The Friends Center owns these homes. The initiative aims to alleviate the financial burden of rent for teachers, as a survey revealed that only one of their 29 staff members owned a home, with most citing rent as their biggest expense.
The program has expanded, and the Friends Center is currently building its third home for teachers, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in the Fall of 2025. Once completed, the Friends Center will be providing free housing for a total of 10 teachers and 8 family members. The homes are also fully furnished through community donations.
The project is a collaborative effort between the Friends Center and students at the Yale School of Architecture, who design each home. Friends Center for Children views this initiative as a way to increase teacher compensation without raising tuition fees and to help educators achieve their financial goals.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Teachers can get some sweet deals on HUD homes

First responders as well. It's called the Good Neighbor Program.

[hunter]

18. Our city has low rent housing for teachers and farm workers.

The downside is you have to be a teacher or a farm worker, both jobs requiring exceptional and uncommon stamina.

The pay here is high compared to most of the nation but housing costs negate that.

[OldBaldy1701E]

21. As long as the powers that be don't hold that over their heads to enforce conformity.

It is a wonderful idea. I just hope the city and the system don't try to use it as 'leverage'.

[indusurb]

22. Better idea

Start paying teachers at the same rate you pay doctors(because frankly teachers are just as important as doctors in our society), say 100k-120k starting salary. Then they can buy their own house, pay off their student loans, and since salary seems to command respect in our society, be more respected in our society. Not to mention you would get a higher caliber of education grads coming out of college. I knew several ed. majors in college who would have made great teachers, but they took a look at their loans, a look at the potential salary, said screw it, I'm going elsewhere.

This is the approach many countries such as Finland take, and you know what, they have the top rated education systems in the world.

Stop trying to band-aid the system together. Pay teachers and pay them well

[Celerity]

23. your salaries for US physicians are off (they are far higher than 100-120K USD per annum)

https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/doctor-salaries-by-specialty/

Average Doctor Salaries by Specialty

In 2023, the average salary for all U.S. physicians, including Primary Care Physicians and Specialists, was $363k.

The average doctor salary grew by approximately 3% from 2022 to 2023.

Orthopedics is currently the top-paying medical specialty, with an average annual salary of $558k.

Average Annual Doctor Salary by Specialty

Here are the top-paying medical specialties, ranked by average annual income:

Orthopedics: $558,000
Plastic Surgery: $536,000
Cardiology: $525,000
Urology: $515,000
Gastroenterology: $512,000
Radiology: $498,000
Dermatology: $479,000
Anesthesiology: $472,000
Oncology: $464,000
Otolaryngology: $459,000
Surgery, General: $423,000
Ophthalmology: $409,000
Critical Care: $401,000
Pulmonary Medicine: $397,000
Emergency Medicine: $379,000
Pathology: $366,000
Ob/Gyn: $352,000
Neurology: $343,000
Nephrology: $341,000
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: $341,000
Psychiatry: $323,000
Allergy and Immunology: $307,000
Rheumatology: $286,000
Internal Medicine: $282,000
Family Medicine: $272,000
Public Health & Preventive Medicine: $263,000
Infectious Diseases: $261,000
Pediatrics: $260,000
Diabetes and Endocrinology: $256,000

Source: MedScape Physician Compensation Report, 2024

[indusurb]

26. I'm talking starting salaries here, entry level doctor's salaries,

Which are around 100k-120k annually. Yes, they go up over time, and yes, I think that teacher's salaries should rise like that as well.

[Celerity]

28. Sorry, but you are offering up ex post facto-revised, vague, receipt-free positings. Also, I fundamentally disagree that

most teachers should be paid at a US physician level of salary. Just one reason: you would very likely bankrupt a shedload of public educational systems that are already struggling to survive.

[indusurb]

30. Receipts

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/entry-level-doctor-salary

Another, that seems a bit of a low ball estimate.
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Entry-Level-Doctor-Salary
Another that seems a bit on the high end.
https://salaryideas.com/average-physician-salary-in-the-us/

Combine these together and you get an estimate somewhere between 100k-120k.

As far as bankrupting school districts, you're right, which means funding would have to come from the feds. We could stop funding wars and start investing in our future.

[Celerity]

32. the first 2 links do not work for me, and the 3rd does not aid your case

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/entry-level-doctor-salary

yields this:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Entry-Level-Doctor-Salary

yields this:

https://salaryideas.com/average-physician-salary-in-the-us/

[indusurb]

33. Well I don't know what's going on with it, or your browser

I do notice that the screen shot you took of the zip recruiter site has a different address in your browser than the link I provided, I don't know how you got to ziprecruiter.ie, are you not posting in the US?

You did get to the right place with the salary ideas site, but apparently didn't scroll down far enough. From the site, at the very bottom:
"5. How much do entry-level physicians earn in the US?
Entry-level physicians, such as those just finishing residency, typically earn between $150,000 and $200,000 per year, depending on their specialty and location. As they gain experience and establish their practice, their salaries often increase significantly."

How about this novel idea, do your own research, then I can nit pick your replies rather than engage in a substansitve dialogue about the merits of raising teachers' pay.

[Celerity]

34. I live in Sweden (I have tripartite citizenship, US via birth, grew up in the UK, and now live in Sweden, my father is

Swedish, my mum is Bajan ie from Barbados). They met in London, and I was born whilst they were in Los Angeles).

I don't know how you got to ziprecruiter.ie, are you not posting in the US?

[indusurb]

35. OK then

A summation then.
Salary.com states that the median entry level salary for doctors is $117k.

Zip recruiter has it at approximately 50k.

Salary ideas has it ranging from 150k-200k.

I'm basically spliting the difference between the highest and lowest estimates. Of course all of this varies by location and specialty.

[senseandsensibility]

38. I agree with your sentiment of course

but where I live (and taught for decades) one hundred K a year is not even close to enough to afford to buy a home. I was just scanning my local real estate sites and more than ninety percent of the homes were well over a million dollars. Even the very small condos were 800 to 900K.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. Back in the 40s and 50s, unmarried teachers had little choice

but to be boarders at homes. They just couldn't afford to buy their own houses in small towns.

[indusurb]

31. Yes, teachers have always been grossly underpaid

Mainly due to misogyny, teaching was considered women's work and therefore not valued as much. The US was able to build a top flight education system in the mid 20th century because women were generally limited to the professions of nursing, secretarial and teaching jobs. Thus we saw lots of top flight talent go into teaching. That started changing in the 1970's as more fields opened up for women, and that top flight talent migrated to better paying jobs.

[David__77]

29. This is the "company town" concept and it has not been kind to workers.

There is a spectrum between free labor and slavery, and this is a step in the wrong direction even if well-intended.

[CTyankee]

37. what else do you know about New Haven?

[NJCher]

36. Here's the NJ version

I don't think it's free per se but it is low in rent. Also located in a very nice neighborhood.

https://teachersvillagerentals.com/#residences