5 Teachers Get Free Rent At Troubled Md. Complex

Here is a interesting follow up to a previous post earlier this week about teachers not being able to afford housing.

The County Executive for Prince George's County Maryland, in an effort to clean up some dilapidated apartment complexes in the county, struck a deal with a developer to provide five apartments to teachers rent free. You heard me, rent free!!! There are of course, strings attached to the teachers living rent free, namely they have to staff a tutoring and help center at the complex and the rent free conditions lasts only as long as they remain teachers and the current developer owns the complex.

This is an interesting development both in terms of helping teachers find homes near the schools in which they teach, but also in the effort to build a better community (which was, in part, the point of my previous post). I know that in the past, police officers were often given significantly reduced or free rent to live in troubled apartment complexes, but this is the first time I have heard of the benefit being offered to teachers. Apparently I am not the only one, and there is some criticism:

"Some call the deal unheard of. With annual salaries just over $40,000, the five teachers essentially are receiving an after-tax housing bonus of more than $12,000 a year. Indefinitely."

Now to debunk the bonus part. These teachers must "tutor neighborhood children." Surely the benefits of the teachers tutoring neighborhood children is a valuable exchange for the $12,000 a year subsidy. Currently, several teachers don't even live in the state!! The teacher profiled for the article lived across the river in Virginia in a studio apartment for herself, her husband and her daughter. I think that the county is getting a deal on this.

In reference to my post earlier this week about building a community, these teachers will be living about a half mile from their school, in the same neighborhood and apartment complex as most of their students!! Talk about a community!

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has helped nearly 1,000 educators buy government-owned homes at half-price in Maryland, Virginia and the District through "Teacher Next Door."

But housing prices being what they are, it seems that most teachers (and there are certainly more than 1,000in the area) certainly could use some help. While I am generally not a big fan of Prince George's County government, this bold step is a positive one. I don't think it is a silver bullet, but getting teachers into the community they serve will only help the community and the education of the kids. In a county which consistently ranks near the bottom of state achievement scores, any step forward is a good one.

I don't think that rent-free is going to work for a lot of school districts, but certainly reduced rent or reduced home prices can help bring qualified teachers into a blighted neighborhood and turn it around.

By the way, the deal between the county and the complex owner provided for 10 rent free apartments in teh 930-unit complex originally for the police. The county asked that five of the ten be given to teachers at the local elementary school and the other five still go to cops. It looks like everyone could win in the crime ridden neighborhood.

5 Teachers Get Free Rent At Troubled Md. Complex