Thanks to a $50,000 grant the Chatham Education Foundation received from the Oak Foundation, Chatham County Schools is test piloting an employee affordable housing program called CHOOSE Chatham.
Working with the Community Home Trust, participating CCS teachers will lease five apartments at The Guild in Chatham Park. These two bedroom, two bath, 1,072 square foot apartments will be available to early-career teachers with additional priority given to Exceptional Children’s teachers and Dual Language international teachers new to Chatham County. As starting salaries for new teachers make affordable housing difficult to come by, participating teachers will pay a subsidized monthly rental fee—not to exceed 30 percent of their salary—and the generous grant from the Oak Foundation will bridge the rental gap between the subsidy and the market price.
The monthly rent for the apartments is $1,859, and they are intended to house two teachers.
“Projections for accelerated population growth in our area signal a consistent need to recruit and retain a high quality teaching workforce for Chatham County Schools,” said Dr. Kelly Batten, CCS assistant superintendent, human resources. “By opening access for teachers to live affordably and develop financial independence in the same zip code as the schools in which they work, the master lease program will support building a stronger school community. We look forward to expanding our local partnerships in order to sustain this program and continue the important conversation about affordable housing in our community.”
A lack of affordable housing for teachers is not exclusive to Chatham County. It’s an issue in every school district. EdNC took a deep dive into housing affordability in North Carolina and three other states by analyzing housing patterns at the census-tract level. Read the report and take a look at the interactive map.
