Housing Costs Put A Crimp On Keeping Teachers In Hawaii

[TexasTowelie]

WAIMEA, HAWAII ISLAND — For Hawaii public school teachers Annie O’Brien and Heather Luster, an ordinary, drab-looking structure parked behind an elementary school has been home for the past year.

What it lacks in aesthetic appeal, it more than makes up for in affordability. The women, who are neighbors, pay $500 a month for their studios, with utilities ranging from $50 to $80. Their rent is deducted directly from their DOE paychecks.

“I realize that’s a very great deal,” said O’Brien, 60, an Australian who moved to the Big Island a year ago from the mainland to teach in special education.

But once O’Brien vacates her apartment after the school year is up, she’s uncertain whether Hawaii’s cost of living makes it worthwhile to stick around in her job.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/05/housing-costs-put-a-crimp-on-keeping-teachers-in-hawaii/

[msongs]

1. legislature reject $15 min wage bill then gave itself a raise. lots of airBnB house available tho nt