The Lee County School District in Marianna used federal funds to build four duplexes to provide quality, affordable housing to attract and retain teachers. (Courtesy photo)
For Taliyana Bryant, finding a school where she could teach and coach volleyball was the dream, so when the Lee County School District also offered her affordable housing, that was just “icing on the cake.”
Bryant is one of four educators who in September moved into new duplexes that were built on a former Marianna elementary school site in an effort to recruit and retain teachers. District and state education officials are celebrating the completion of the affordable housing project for teachers with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
Prior to the completion of her fully-furnished, 3-bedroom, 2-bath duplex, Bryant drove an hour and a half from her home in North Little Rock to her year-round school in east Arkansas. The third-grade math teacher’s commute is now a three-minute drive.
Bryant, a 26-year-old who worked as a substitute teacher in Mississippi before joining Lee County this summer, said housing is always an issue for teachers. If other districts pursued similar projects, Bryant said she’s sure there would be a surge of educators.
“It gives your employees a sense of safety and satisfaction as well as reassurance that they’ll be fine,” she said. “They don’t also have to go out and figure out how to live on top of teaching. Teaching is already pretty rigorous if you ask me, so having to figure out where you’re going to live and what you’re going to do and how you’re going to pay for stuff, it’s not ideal.”
Arkansas school districts offer affordable teacher housing as recruitment tool
The Lee County School District broke ground on the $3.96 million project in February. Superintendent Micheal Stone said the district used mostly American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) money to finance construction of the four duplexes. Each two-story unit offers about 1,500 square feet of space.
The project follows a national trend of districts using teacher housing as a recruitment and retention tool to deal with teacher shortages. The number of U.S. education students declined by about a quarter of a million between 2008 and 2020, but that decrease is leveling out, according to Education Week. Arkansas saw a 49% decline in teacher-preparation program enrollees from 2008-2021.
Besides Lee County, the Bentonville Public School District broke ground in May on its own project in Northwest Arkansas where economic growth and population expansion has made it difficult for teachers to find affordable housing amid surging home prices.
In rural east Arkansas, Stone has said there’s a lack of quality homes. Bryant said her duplex is nice, convenient and stocked with brand-new appliances. It’s also large enough to comfortably accommodate family members who wish to visit, she said.
Tenants are charged $860 a month for rent and utilities, and maintenance of the grounds and repairs are covered by the district, Stone said. Tenants agreed to typical rental restrictions such as no pets and no smoking, he said.
Although Stone spoke with tenants about working at the district for a few years, the superintendent said he opted not to require a formal agreement because he didn’t want to run afoul of the LEARNS Act. The sweeping 2023 law made several changes to the state’s education system, including repealing the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, which allowed teachers’ contracts to automatically renew if they were not informed of their dismissal by May 1.
To qualify for housing, applicants had to be credentialed to teach and live outside of town. Due to delays in construction, only four units were ready around the beginning of the school year. The remaining four were recently finished and Stone said he’ll reach out to potential tenants who previously expressed interest about filling those spots over the semester break.
In addition to helping the district, Stone said the new duplexes are improving the community’s image, something he’s proud of as a Marianna native. Bryant said she’s excited for the opportunity to live in the community where she works because it reduces wear and tear on her car and her students have the opportunity to see her out in the community.
“I’m just honestly super grateful for the opportunity, being able to stay here as well as work my dream job,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to work with children.”
Sept. 30 was the deadline for obligating ESSER funding, so while other schools can’t follow Lee County’s exact model, Stone encourages them to explore other options if they’re interested in pursuing similar projects.
“This hadn’t been done before, but I’m never afraid of doing something that hadn’t been done before,” he said. “So my advice would be go for it. As long as you’re legally able to do something positive for the district and your community, just go for it.”
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