State schools buy up houses
Property prices are now a major factor in teacher job crisis, reports Marika Hill.
Principals struggling to fill teaching positions have resorted to buying properties they can rent to staff in an attempt to offset the impact of the housing crisis.
A ‘‘perfect storm’’ has created a secondary school teaching shortage, exacerbated by teachers fleeing Auckland’s skyrocketing property market, one principal says.
A new survey of principals reveals about one in 10 schools is unable to fill permanent positions.
The average secondary school teacher earns between $46,000 and $75,000 but the median Auckland house price is $812,000.
The secondary school teachers union and the Post Primary Teachers’ Association are working with the Ministry of Education on finding solutions, but some principals are taking matters into their own hands.
Macleans College in Auckland is buying houses in the affluent suburb of Bucklands Beach, where the typical home sells for $1 million. A North Shore school is reportedly considering a similar approach.
Macleans principal Byron Bentley said a ‘‘perfect storm’’ of conditions had led to a shortage of secondary teachers.
In a bid to attract applications, the decile 10 school planned to buy a couple of rentals that could be available next year at belowmarket rates.
‘‘We’re exploring purchasing rentals for providing affordable accommodation for existing and future staff.’’
It was not known how the school would fund the plan.
Macleans College has already advertised for teaching positions in 2017 – a practice normally left until the end of the year.
Bentley said eight teachers left the school in the past few years to move outside of Auckland due to rising property prices.
Compounding the problem was a lack of teacher graduates in maths and science subjects and the looming retirement of baby boomers. Increasing school rolls and large numbers of international students also increased demand for teachers across Auckland.
Bentley said teachers in the core hard-to-staff subjects should be paid more. There are currently no extra incentives in those areas, or for staff paying higher prices in the country’s most populated city.
Secondary Principals’ Association president Sandy Pasley said the teacher shortage was at ‘‘crisis point’’.
Principals are finding it almost impossible to find quality teachers of science, maths, technology and te reo Maori, she said.
There were 76 Auckland positions advertised on the Education Gazette this week, predominantly for science and maths teachers at high-decile schools.
Western Springs teacher Melanie Webber said very few of her colleagues
We’re exploring purchasing rentals for providing affordable accommodation for existing and future staff. Byron Bentley Macleans College principal
could afford homes in the suburb.
Auckland teacher graduates often took on debt while their counterparts in more affordable cities saved money, she said.
‘‘It just makes financial sense for people to move.’’
Education Minister Hekia Parata said the ministry had no record of being approached by Macleans College about house purchases.
Funding was to be used for the purpose for which it was granted by the Government, she said.