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Swimming Upstream: How to Build Teacher Housing to Recruit and Retain Great Teachers
A landmark 2022 Keystone Policy Center report, entitled Homeownership for Colorado Teachers: Affording the American Dream, laid out in stark terms how difficult it is for public school teachers in Colorado to live where they work. The report revealed that fewer than 20 percent of for sale homes in the state are valued at a price that is affordable for teachers earning the average salary in the school district in which they work.
In many places, rents are also out of reach, especially for early-career teachers. Rents nationally were 17.6 percent higher in July 2023 than in February 2020. As housing costs – both rental and ownership – have spiraled to unprecedented levels both in the urban corridor and in mountain resort communities, educator pay has failed to keep pace. This has problematic implications for school districts that need to attract and retain teachers.
Housing affordability for educators has been an issue for several years, but has grown more acute in Colorado, and elsewhere, since the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in real estate prices and rents beginning in 2020. While prices have flattened over the past year, rising interest rates have more than offset any modest declines in home prices.
While the challenges of providing educator housing in expensive real estate markets might seem daunting, they are surmountable. Our follow-up report, Swimming Upstream: How To Build Teacher Housing to Recruit and Retain Great Teachers, examines those school districts that are tackling this problem head on.
The first section of this report will briefly survey the issue from a national perspective, with a focus on California, where the acuteness of affordability challenges is extreme and longstanding, and where school districts and the state legislature have begun chipping away at the problem.
We will then take a detailed look at how Roaring Fork and Eagle school districts have approached tackling the issue in their communities over the past few years. We will conclude with a cautionary tale out of Denver, and a brief description of the types of partnerships between districts, developers, municipalities, and nonprofits that are necessary to make any school district-led housing initiative succeed. We will also briefly examine Proposition 123, approved by Colorado voters in 2022, which will create significant sums and incentives for developers and nonprofits to build affordable housing. School districts could conceivably form partnerships to take advantage of these opportunities.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
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Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.