Watch for teacher stampede

Congratulations to the Board and executive staff at Auckland’s Mount Albert Grammar, for their creativity in addressing the school staffing crisis head on.

In 2016, MAGS purchased a nearby rest home and announced plans to turn it into a girls’ boarding house.

Its roll was already looking pretty full and expected to climb to 2800 in 2017. It’s now bursting at the seams with more than 3000 students.

It cannot have been an easy decision to halt the works, chuck out the idea of a boarding house (it would have been the first for girl students at the school) and change tack to build a mega-flat occupied by young teachers.

It’s likely to be a decision that pays off handsomely. The 10 lucky teachers will pay lower than market rent, and no transport costs as the building is a short walk from the school.

The requirement to also help with co-curricular activities is no big deal – most teachers I know already do this as a matter of course, on top of an already packed schedule and mostly in their so-called ‘‘free time.’’

It will give teachers on a starting salary the opportunity to work at one of New Zealand’s best regarded public schools, live nearby, and really contribute to school life without having to face a long commute at either end of the day.

I can’t see how there won’t be a stampede.