Chamber forum tackles affordable housing in Southwest Florida

Some Lee County teachers may one day be living very near the schools at which they work, says one school official.

“(We’re looking) at the possibility of putting work-force housing on campuses,” Joe Donzelli, director of communications for the Lee County School District, said Wednesday. “It may not be a lot, but at least it will be something.”

He spoke at an education roundtable The Chamber of Southwest Florida presented on affordable housing, joining other education officials from Collier and Lee county public schools, Edison College, International College, Ave Maria University and Florida Gulf Coast University.

Chairman David Borden said this was the first time the Chamber presented the same roundtable discussion in both counties.

Affordable housing was the main issue, as many of the panel members said prospective employees are rejecting jobs because of the cost of living.

Donzelli said his district is beginning to look into whether it would be helpful to collaborate with other Lee County agencies to provide housing for the Lee work force. The county is weighing its options, but like Collier County, it’s beginning to look at building housing closer to the schools for district employees.

Ray Baker, superintendent of Collier County Public Schools, said the district has already begun talking with area hospitals and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to build work-force housing.

“If we can share (this plan) you will have a good mix of work force and their families in the housing project, and we hope to put forth a project soon,” he said.

But Collier and Lee public schools aren’t the only ones facing a housing problem because it’s also popping up at area colleges and universities.

Jeff Allbritten, president of the Collier County campus of Edison College, said the college is looking at undeveloped land it owns in Naples for work-force housing. Allbritten said developing that land for housing could pose problems for the college in the future, though.

“As soon as you put something on it, you lose every opportunity to expand the campus,” he said.

While the majority of the faculty and staff are planning on living in the town of Ave Maria, John Sites, vice president for academic affairs and administration at Ave Maria University, said some faculty members have turned down jobs because of the cost of living.

Sites said the university has recently created a committee to look at housing options for faculty members.

“The most important challenge for us is the growth,” said Bonnie Yegidis, FGCU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We really cannot keep pace with the rate of growth in Southwest Florida.”

Donzelli compared the growth to the growth Broward County once experienced.

“I’m the relative newbie, so I bring a different perspective to this (discussion),” he said. “This area is exactly where Broward County was 14 years ago after Hurricane Andrew came through.”

The high cost of living means school districts are paying teachers more, in hopes of recruiting them to the area.

Donzelli said the 2006-07 school year will be the first time there aren’t enough students graduating from college with teaching degrees. He said there will be a shortage of about 2,500 teachers next year.

The teacher shortage is one reason both school districts have fought for increased teacher pay next year. Donzelli said teachers in Lee County will get paid about $36,000, while Baker said teachers will get paid in the $37,000 to $38,000 range next year.

“The sunshine isn’t in our paychecks anymore,” Donzelli said. “Things are changing, and the sunshine isn’t (as important).”