RALEIGH, N.C. - Build it and they will come–but only if they can afford the financing.
Attracting good teachers to underserved areas has always been a dilemma for school boards particularly in rural and urban areas.
In North Carolina, where the North Carolina Rural and Economic Development Center considers 85 of the state’s 100 counties rural, the problem is especially acute.
The main reason besides salaries, according to a 2007 report published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, is finding affordable housing. The report recommends that regional housing be strategically placed in key geographic areas that place teachers in proximity of a variety of school systems at affordable rents.
However, with the exception of a teacher’s apartment complex in California’s Silicon Valley, research conducted by the CU Journal revealed that teacher apartment complexes are few and far between. The starting rent for a one-bedroom in the Santa Clara, Calif. teachers’ apartment complex is $1,075.
But one North Carolina CU here is trying to do something to alleviate the crisis. There are many credit unions all over the country offering low-cost mortgage products to teachers but the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) program addresses an immediate need for affordable housing and also provided ancillary benefits by boosting teacher recruitment in an under served area of the state.
SECU recently partnered with community organizations to build an apartment complex called Hertford Pointe in rural Hertford County, North Carolina.
Lagging Behind Rest Of The State
Located in northeastern North Carolina, this is an area that has historically lagged behind the rest of the state in terms of economic development, according to U.S. Census figures. Per the 2000 census, Hertford County’s income for a median household size of 2.3 was $22,400.
Early in 2006, the $15-billion CU saw an opportunity for a collaborative effort between the SECU Foundation–a 501(c)(3) corporation–the Partners for Hertford County Public Schools Foundation, the Hertford County Public School district and area businesses and community leaders.
Within the county, there are a total of nine apartment developments with 419 living units. Only one development, consisting of 24 units, is available to teachers because the remaining unit rents are all subsidized, according to SECU.
SECU’s Ahoskie Advisory Board submitted a grant request to the SECU Foundation which agreed to loan approximately $2.25 million to the school board to fund the construction of a three building, 24-unit apartment complex called Hertford Pointe.
“The loan was structured to be paid back within 10 years at 0% interest,” said SECU’s svp of education services, Leigh Brady.
Administrators of the Hertford School System identified approximately 10 acres of surplus land located in close proximity to the high school and the largest elementary school in the County. The school system then donated the land to the Partners for Hertford County Schools Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation.
On Dec. 15, 2006 the groundbreaking began and within 8 months, all 24 residential units, each with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, were leased to Hertford County teachers. The starting rents are very low by any market standard.
“One important thing I’d like to stress is that we charge $500 per month which I think is great,” said Dr. Michael G. Basham, superintendent of Hertford County Public Schools.
School officials added that the housing complex has been a highly successful recruitment tool for the school system and positive results were noted within the first month of operation.
“Last year was the first time that we were able to recruit highly qualified teachers in more than six years,” said Betty Pugh, Hertford County Public School District executive director of human resources.
Pugh said that the school district’s human resource department uses pictures of the development in its recruiting efforts. She added that the number of teacher vacancies has also fallen due to the project.
“As of last August, the school system had only four teacher vacancies to fill,” she said. “In the past, the school system would have had an estimated 10 vacant teacher positions at the start of school with some still open for the whole year.”
Builder Wayne Jones, of Jones Architecture LLC, designed the project with energy efficiency foremost in mind and Fred Mills, Jr. of Mills Construction Company Inc. housing focused on energy efficiency and “Green” functionality as key to keeping the units affordable and ongoing maintenance costs at a minimum. Building energy consumption was projected to be 40% lower than standard construction, and the project included as a goal the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating.
The energy improvement package included increased levels of insulation, high efficiency equipment, building system performance testing, and the use of solar energy.
Other affordable green design strategies included healthy interior finishes reduced use of PVC, controlled ventilation to reduce mold and mildew, the use of recycled materials and the reduction of construction waste.
Riding on the coattails of the success of this project, SECU Foundation is looking to replicate the concept in Dare County, North Carolina.
“Last year we started with Hertford County and this year we want to replicate the project in Dare County, Brady said.”
A Chance To Live The Dream
Hertford Pointe was intended as a vehicle for teachers to purchase their first home. It gives them the opportunity to live in low-cost housing and save money for down payment and closing costs, Brady said.
The credit union already offers a loan product (Star Mortgage Program) that provides up to 100% financing and $1,000 towards closing costs but this housing project was more about attracting teachers to a traditionally underserved area of the state bordering in Virginia line, she said.
Basham offered that there have been talks about building low-cost condominiums for teachers who have lived in the apartment complex for at least three years, but that those talks were still in the discussion phase. At presstime, there were 31 teachers living at Hertford Pointe and rents are still $500 per month.
MORE
Read more about this program at cujournal.com and searching the following bolded terms in the archive:
State Employees CU Wants to House North Carolina’s Teachers
SECU Eyes Housing For Teachers
State Employees CU Eyes Statewide Expansion of Affordable Housing for Teachers
North Carolina SECU Foundation Honored
For info on this story:
* www.ncsecu.org.
* www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/realestate/18nati.html
* www.hertford.k12.nc.us
* www.ncsecufoundation.org
