By Jeremy Heiman
The Sopris Sun
Last year, 80 teachers left the Roaring Fork School District for greener pastures.
That’s almost 20 percent of the teaching staff. Most left because they couldn’t afford housing in the valley. And it’s not a new problem.
“That’s been pretty much the same for the last four or five years,” said Judy Haptonstall, superintendent for the district, which serves Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs.
The cost of training each newly hired teacher is about $70,000, Haptonstall said. Much of that expense goes to the state’s required induction program and other training efforts, “to bring them up to speed,” she said.
An even higher percentage of the district’s custodians, cooks, bus drivers and other staff members resigns each year, Haptonstall said, either to take higher paying jobs or to seek work where they can afford housing.
On Jan. 26, the Carbondale Board of Trustees took another look at a revised plan for an affordable housing development, brought forward by the school district in the hope that it will reduce the turnover of teachers and staff and the related expenses.
“This is a crucial, crucial project,” Haptonstall told the trustees.
The plan calls for a total of 120 units — 15 single-family houses, 40 condominiums and 65 townhouses — to be built in the heart of Carbondale between Bridges High school and the Third Street Center. The units are expected to range from $118,000 to $350,000 in price.
“Basically, we’ll be subsidizing them to the point where the [district’s employees] can afford them,” Haptonstall said, in an interview.
These projected prices are quite remarkable. Even in the current depressed real estate market, with 142 units for sale in Carbondale, only one unit in town is priced less than $150,000. The district and its consultant, architect Chuck Perry of Denver, hope to keep the prices low by making the most efficient use of the land, which the district already owns.
The savings will be achieved through density, which will allow the district to spread the cost of planning, construction, and infrastructure – such as utilities and streets – over a larger number of dwellings.
Some trustees thought that the drawbacks of added density will be outweighed by the obvious benefits of the project — retaining teachers and making them a part of the community.
“The campus feel [of the development] is exciting,” said Trustee Stacey Bernot. “I’m not a big fan of height, and I’m not a big fan of density. But the intent of this project is so much different from the other ones we’ve been seeing.”
Ed Cortez echoed the sentiment.
“I’m willing to trade the density for the affordability on this one,” he said.
An earlier version of the plan called for 89 units, but calculations indicated that the proceeds from the sale of the units would fall short of the costs by about $4 million.
But as dense as it is, the current proposal falls short of breaking even by about $1 million. School district officials hope to close the gap by bringing in partners.
Garfield County has already agreed to participate in the project, and Haptonstall said she’s hoping RFTA, Valley View Hospital and some local businesses will join up.
“We’re open to conversations with any employers,” she said.
The trustees discussed not only density on Jan. 26, but other concerns as well: open space, traffic and parking.