District by district, teacherages make a resurgence across Wyoming

SHERIDAN — When Antony Fink took a job as Sheridan High School's machining teacher this summer, he was pleasantly surprised to learn he could live in district-owned rentals while his family transitioned from Powell.

“It has made things a lot easier, as it would have been very difficult for my family to (move with me),” Fink said.

Fink currently lives in one of Sheridan County School District #2's renovated units on the old Normative Services, Inc., property. Although the district-provided housing was not a deciding factor when it came to his move to Sheridan, teacherages were not a new concept to Fink: He lived in a district-owned home when he took his first job in Lyman, a town of 2,000 just off I-80 in Uinta County.

“That was a huge benefit for me at that time, because I was a new teacher and I’d just started a family. It was a big deal,” Fink said.

Rural, smaller communities have long offered teacher housing, often called teacherages.

Out of necessity, teachers once boarded with local ranchers, lived in the backroom of a school or lived in small log cabin or frame buildings constructed beside schools, according to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

But as the nation faces an ever-pressing affordable housing crisis, teacherages have expanded in their usefulness.

Before the 2023-24 school year, Sheridan County School District #2 purchased former NSI property, including three housing units, SCSD #2 Superintendent Scott Stults said. After a major renovation to create six units, all were filled by the middle of the last school year.

This fall, they're full again.

“They’re for teacher housing, knowing that when new teachers (come) to our district, whether they’re brand new teachers or new to Sheridan, housing is a struggle. It is tight. It is expensive,” Stults said. “We felt it was our responsibility to purchase some housing, so we could relieve some of that pressure on teachers to find housing on their own.”

Fink's family is still over in Powell, he said.

"We’re transitioning over after we sell our home. It (the teacherage) has made everything much more — maybe, I’d say, user-friendly,” he said.

In more rural Sheridan County School District #1, Superintendent Jeff Jones said there is “no doubt” the supply of affordable housing is a huge issue. To his knowledge, all of the district's new hires did find housing in Sheridan or within the district, which includes Big Horn, Ranchester and Dayton. SCSD#1 does own one apartment on the upstairs portion of its transportation building, which is currently rented by a staff member.

“It is actually pretty nice, and we allow the person to live there for up to three years before they need to move into something more permanent. This way it comes open for a new hire,” Jones said.

Many other districts in Wyoming offer teacherages, or are exploring new ways to do so.

In Thermopolis, Hot Springs County School District #1 built several units and used the experience as a learning opportunity for students. In Teton County, the local school district spent $1.1 million on a two-bedroom townhome that will be used for teacher housing. In eastern Wyoming, Crook County School District #1 has had five houses in Moorcroft since the 1960s, built a house in Hulett in 2006 and purchased trailer homes for Moorcroft and Sundance teachers in 2009.

“Having teacher housing in place is a great way to give new teachers, or people that are moving from a different community, a place to land while they look for a forever home,” CCSD#1 Human Resources Manager Sherri Moeller said.

There's also a three year limit on rentals in CCSD#1.

“Our intention is not that these become a forever home, but to integrate people into the community,” Moeller said.

The first homes acquired by the district were built for federal government workers, and when they were no longer needed, they were donated to the district, Moeller said. More units were added over the years, and a housing shortage following the 2008 Great Recession prompted the then-superintendent to purchase the most recent trailer homes.

The rent is also very low — $500 a month for a 3-bedroom in Moorcroft, with an increase of $50 per year until the third year. Monthly city utilities are an added $150.

“We talk every year about the (rent). We’re not looking to make money on them. These are a benefit to our staff, and that is why we put a limit of three years on them,” Moeller said. “It does help with recruitment and retention, and we do our leases month-to-month."

Jones said his district is considering more housing options for teachers in SCSD#1, including the possibility of leasing, and then subleasing, other apartments within the district.

“The school board has not made any final decisions yet. I think having a few apartments to sublease could potentially help with recruiting and retaining staff,” Jones said. “It is something we will continue to discuss in the coming months.”

The old NSI properties in SCSD#2, Stults said, are intended to be temporary homes, rented on one- to two-year leases. Before the district offered housing, Stults said new hires sometimes struggled to find a place to live.

“Some of what we were seeing was that we would offer a position to a candidate, they would accept it and then several weeks later, they would call back and say they could not take the position because they couldn’t find a place to live,” Stults said. “That was a motivator for us.”

Stults also said the district focuses on retention, hoping housing new teachers will encourage them to stay.

“Once we get a great teacher, and they have that impact on our kids, we want to keep them as long as possible,” he said. Short-term housing allows teachers to “get their feet on the ground” before finding their forever home, he said.

Because, according to Moeller, no matter where you live, “when you first move to a community, you want to learn about it before you decide where you want to settle.”