Employee housing is coming to the Dillingham City School District. After months of negotiations and inspections, the district finalized a four-year lease agreement for Wood River Rentals apartment complex, beginning Tuesday, July 1.
The complex is eight units on Wood River Road. Under the agreement, the district will lease the property and rent the units directly to district employees, acting as an intermediary.
“It won't be available just to teachers,” said Heather Savo, president of the Dillingham City School Board. “We want to make sure that anyone that needs housing that is working for the school can apply for an apartment.”
Work on this lease began in September but progress stalled when the complex failed its water inspection. Savo says the complex replaced its well, put in a filtration system and passed inspections over the winter.
Savo says the board has been exploring employee housing options for years due to ongoing housing challenges for district staff. She says the board decided to lease first to gauge the experience of being a landlord before making a purchase.
She describes the district's experience with housing staff as a ‘rollercoaster’ over her six years on the school board. Some years, she says, they haven't had a problem with teachers and district employees finding housing. Other years, teachers have lived in the school's classrooms for months while searching.
In some cases, Savo says teachers have opted not to come at all due to lack of available housing.
"We've had people that don't even show up, and so we are losing good quality people because they don't have housing," Savo said. "We are trying to do something good and hopefully keep teachers and retain them and get them here."
The apartments are all newly renovated, but Savo says they still require some upgrades to meet safety regulations. The district's maintenance department plans to work on the units this summer with materials paid for by the owner of the complex, according to the district.
The district will pay $12,663 per month for the least of the property for the first year, with annual increases bringing the total to $14,659 per month by the end of the four-year agreement, according to district officials. Savo says the board hopes that the complex will pay for itself through rental income. If not, the district will cover the additional cost.
A housing committee, made up of district staff and community members, determined a subsidized rent for district employees. Once employee housing needs are met, the district says they will open the units to non-district staff at an unsubsidized rate. So far, one of the eight units is filled by a district employee for next school year, according to district officials.
The lease will end June, 2029.
