Bill Cilker and Rotarians address teacher housing
By Rebecca Ray
Dina Wright learned about Los Gatos High School on the Internet. A history teacher with four years' experience and a master's degree, she was hoping to find a position on the West Coast. LGHS seemed like a good match. According to Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District Superintendent Cindy Ranii, the young teacher was a perfect match. "She was our first choice for the job," Ranii said.
Wright was considering the offer, and that's when she returned to the Internet to begin her second level of research--finding a place to live. And as anyone in the education field could predict that's when the trouble started. "She called us and said she didn't see how she could possibly afford to take the job," Ranii said.
Fortunately, that was about the same time Ranii was talking with fellow Los Gatos Rotarians about how difficult it was to attract good teachers from outside the area because they either couldn't find or couldn't afford housing. Longtime Rotarian Bill Cilker, LGHS Class of '37, had an idea.
He and his wife, Lee, owned a rental home near Willow Glen and Campbell.
At 1,250 square feet, the three-bedroom home could easily fetch $2,500 per month in today's market. The Cilkers said they'd rent it to new teachers moving into the area for $1,450.
That's how Wright and her roommate--a new teacher in the Los Gatos Union School District--found themselves living in Silicon Valley and teaching in Los Gatos schools.
Now the Rotarians have decided that others in the community might be willing to step up to the plate, as well. The club has formed a teacher housing subcommittee to help teachers rent homes in the Silicon Valley. Starting pay in the high school district is $40,000, while beginning teachers in the elementary district earn $35,000.
The subcommitte is working as part of the Rotary Club's World Community Service Committee. According to Ranii, the committee at one time had a focus that wasn't local at all, but recently it's begun to look closer to home at issues such as the teacher housing crisis and homelessness.
The subcommittee recently mailed some 350 letters to Los Gatans with secondary units advising them of the need for teacher housing. The group has set a goal of finding 12 units by next fall. Cilker has named the effort, "Cottages for Teachers."
Wright said she could not have lived in the Silicon Valley without Cilker's help. According to Wright, rents need to be cheaper and less scarce in order for teachers to live in Silicon Valley. "There's going to be a shortage of teachers in this nation anyway, and the teachers will opt to live in communities that are more affordable," Wright said.
In addition to helping teachers find places to rent, subcommittee members hope to inform teachers of programs that will help them find affordable rents and, eventually, home-buying resources.
According to Ranii, the first problem is rental units. "But we see a lot of teachers leave once they've been here five or six years. That's when they're getting married and starting families, and they want to buy a home."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
