State survey reveals workforce housing would keep Hawai‘i educators in classrooms

A survey commissioned by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education revealed that retention of teachers would increase with the availability of workforce housing.

The results of the survey were presented June 3 at the meeting of the Hawaiʻi School Facilities Authority, which was established in 2020-21 to be a smaller, more nimble state agency separate from the education department. It has a mission to partner with public and private development agencies to develop housing projects on school lands.

The authority is ready to build 2,500 rental housing units to serve 11% of the educator workforce by 2030.

Brian Canevari, the authorityʻs program manager responsible for workforce housing, presented 25 potential teacher workforce housing sites statewide, including three on Kaua‘i at Kapa‘a Middle School, Kaua‘i Community College and ‘Ele‘ele Elementary School.

Click here to see Canevari’s full presentation.

The Department of Education commissioned the survey in April 2024 to gauge employee views on workforce housing and to explore the challenges of teacher recruitment and retention. The survey was distributed to all 22,540 salaried Department of Education employees statewide, with 9,668 responding (43%).

The survey results revealed that 60% of respondents said employee workforce housing would likely increase retention. That figure jumps to 80% for those who are non-homeowners.

“Unfortunately, retaining new teachers has been an ongoing challenge in Hawai‘i,” said Riki Fujitani, executive director of the Schools Facilities Authority. “Only about half of the new teachers in our state remain in the profession after five years. The turnover can sometimes outpace retirements.

“Not surprisingly, the primary reason for the high turnover is Hawai‘i’s high cost of living. Many teachers simply find it too difficult to live on a teacher’s salary, especially with our state’s high cost of housing.”

Based on a presentation during the June meeting by Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, deputy superintendent for strategy and administration with the Department of Education, the survey revealed a strong demand for rental workforce housing.

The survey showed that:

• 41% of the respondents are likely to leave the Department of Education due to housing costs
• 54% are interested in employee workforce housing
• 75% of non-homeowners are likely to consider signing a lease for the upcoming year if suitable rental housing for employees became available

Jason Bradshaw, government relations specialist of the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, noted in his presentation during the June board meeting that Hawaiʻi has the second-highest rents in the country out of all states and the U.S. territories. He cited information from Rentdata.org.

Housing costs take a significant bite out of a teacher’s salary. The Department of Education survey showed 41% of respondents, whose median age was 47 years old, share a living space with others in their household and 37% of the respondents have a part-time job.

Based on a rule of thumb that monthly rent should not exceed 30% of an individual’s gross monthly income, a beginning teacher whose salary would start at $51,835, would be able to afford a monthly rent of $1,295.

Bradshaw noted that teacher recruitment and retention require a multi-pronged solution. The teacher’s association’s recommendations include:

• Building more teacher housing
• Providing housing assistance to teachers
• Raising teacher wages
• Provide 100% employer-covered medical insurance

“The SFA board meeting gave all of us a lot to think about and showed us that we must all take action,” Fujitani said. “It is a privilege for the SFA team to be part of this important, collaborative effort to support Hawai‘i students and teachers.”