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

A survey commissioned by the Department of Education revealed that retention of Hawai‘i educators would increase with the availability of workforce housing.

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

Hawai‘i School Facilities Authority is ready to execute the build of 2,500 rental housing units to serve 11% of the educator workforce by 2030.

Brian Canevari, SFA program manager responsible for workforce housing, presented 25 potential teacher workforce housing sites statewide, including four on Hawai‘i Island at Kealakehe Intermediate and Elementary Schools, Honoka‘a Elementary and High Schools, Kalanianaole Elementary and Laupahoehoe High and Elementary Schools.

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 DOE employees statewide and 9,668 responded, a 43% response rate.

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 agency executive director Riki Fujitani. “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 by Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, deputy superintendent for strategy and administration with the Hawai‘i Department of Education, during the June meeting, the survey revealed a strong demand for rental workforce housing.

The survey showed that:

• 41% of the respondents are likely to leave the DOE 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 U.S. territories, according to Rentdata.org.

Housing costs take a significant bite out of a teacher’s salary. The DOE 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 percent 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.”