High housing costs in Howard are resulting in many teachers living outside the county or leaving for jobs closer to their houses in other counties.
The mean home value in Howard is $470,000; the mean teacher salary as of July was $64,095.
What incentives would you provide to keep teachers in the county?
» Diane Butler: “The school board must back up the teachers as well as [honor] negotiated contracts. Clean house at the top. Administration salaries should be in line with teacher pay.”
» Allen Dyer: “I support competitive salaries for all of our public education professionals, but each board employee has a right to live where they so choose. Different perspectives enrich our schools.”
» Betsy Grater: “I would encourage state and local governments and banking institutions to offer teachers and other public sector employees incentives such as lower mortgage rates and ensure their right to first choice of moderate housing.”
» Faenita Dilworth: “We should search for excellence as we hire teachers, [evaluate] the teacher workload, have incentives and rewards for [creative teaching.] We should have teacher focus groups [so we can help] teachers.”
» Ellen Flynn Giles: “To retain highly qualified teachers, we must provide competitive salaries and benefits, critical instructional materials, technology and support staffing, and professional development, and support local government in increasing affordable housing.”
» Janet Siddiqui: “We need to do our best to keep salaries competitive with surrounding counties and work with local government and lenders for affordable housing solutions to keep teachers in the neighborhood.”
» Di Zou: “Incentives for keeping teachers in the county could include higher salaries, health and retirement benefits, and tax breaks.”
