RONAN — Ask anyone what’s the biggest issue facing our communities and chances are, they’ll say ‘affordable housing’.
Finding a place to live in the district where they work can be nearly impossible for teachers — especially new ones.
The Ronan School District plucked an idea seen more often in eastern Montana and brought it home to create a home for its educators. It comes just as a new school year is underway.
One hundred twenty teachers are on the job for Ronan schools. There are eight new eductors this year, and one came to Montana from Kentucky. They all need to live somewhere, preferably in Ronan.
“Every school district in the state is probably battling to find housing for their teachers," says Ronan School Superintendent Mark Johnston.
The starting teacher salary in Ronan is $43,000 a year. Johnston notes rent in Ronan runs between $1,000 and $1,500 a month. Doing the math, things get tight.
"We realized that having affordable housing can really make a difference in us retaining teachers. Many were commuting from other communities where they could find housing," Johnston told MTN. "So they'd take that position when a job opened up where they lived. If we can combat that it would help."
The District bought two lots from the nearby Jake’s Farm in the Dell to build two duplexes by using money from a federal COVID-19 assistance program. The plan was approved by the Montana Office of Public Instruction.
The two, four bedroom units are under construction and should be complete later this fall.
"It is a win-win situation," Johnston says. "It would give us the land we needed to build a couple of places and a win-win for Proactive Living Facility to give them some capital to finish the job."
Ronan School District leaders have not yet determined the rent price or what utilities they’ll cover, But it’s a good first step to getting first-time teachers a place to settle in.
"That’s how we’re looking at it," Johnston tells MTN. "It's not as permanent housing but somewhere where we can get people in here get them adjusted to the community to see how they fit."
This could be a model for other districts to follow as a way to help combat the housing shortage and retain good teachers.
"I know there are other people out here looking to see how this ends. I think it was a great idea and it’s really going to be awesome for our new teachers especially," Johnston says.
