Tired of moving each year and worrying about finding her next roommate, Sandra Browning decided to buy a place of her own. That is, with a little help.
The 25-year-old music teacher at Highlands Ranch’s Redstone Elementary School is one of the first Douglas County teachers to get home-buying help from a program that pairs the county’s school district employees with its Housing Partnership.
With the first-year program, Browning got an upfront $11,700 loan from the partnership, was matched with a bank for another loan, got home- buying classes and had someone to help her close on a new, $114,000 condominium near Parker. In five years, she will begin repaying her first loan in $55-a-month increments.
“I’m finally getting to live on my own,” said Browning, who moved into her one-bedroom, one-bath condo this month.
The issue of affordable housing for teachers and other school employees has become a priority in Douglas County, where an influx of affluent families fueled home prices and turned the once-rural area into the fourth-largest school district in Colorado.
“It hasn’t been impossible (to buy a home), but I’ve consistently heard that it’s difficult and gets harder every year,” said Pat McGraw, president of the Douglas County Federation of Teachers. “It’s especially tough for the young teachers.”
County home-sale prices are up 9 percent since 2003 and this year average $363,100 per sale.
The area’s median family income exceeds $70,000, placing it among Colorado’s wealthiest communities.
But many of the district’s 6,000 employees make only a portion of that median.
The school district’s 2,800 teachers average $48,000 yearly, the federation said, with salaries beginning at $31,000 for new teachers without experience.
Nearly 400 teachers are new to the district this school year and received information about the housing project. Two teacher so far have closed on homes.
“It’s going to take awhile for word to spread, but it’s certainly offering some immediate help for our people,” said Jack Kronser, the Douglas County district’s director of recruitment.
While the direct partnership between the district and the housing group is relatively new to Colorado, similar programs have worked in the nation’s most expensive communities.
In San Jose, Calif., for example, deferred loans up to $65,000 are offered to full-time teachers who choose to live in the city.
And in the Aspen School District, loans and 22 subsidized rental properties have been available for at least three years. Superintendent Diana Sirko said her district’s program is responsible for recruiting teachers to the pricey resort town.
“In a community where the average home is $2.1 million, there’s no way a teacher can be here without some help,” said Sirko, whose teachers must work in the district for at least three years to be eligible for the loans. “The whole idea for us was that we wanted to retain quality employees.”
In Douglas County, the $11,770 loan is available to anyone who makes less than 80 percent of the region’s median family income and meets other criteria. Teachers and school district employees also receive help on home appraisals and inspections.
“It’s a unique service because we’re getting face-to-face contact with someone else’s employees,” said Craig Maraschky, the Housing Partnership’s executive director, who wants the program to be a model for other businesses in the county.
One of those to get the face-to- face contact is Browning, the music teacher, who closed on her condominium this month.
“I would never have been able to afford my new place without this help,” said Browning, who had shared a place in Aurora with her sister. “I finally get to settle down.”
Denver Post researcher Barbara Hudson contributed to this report.
