Education City Examples: Teacher and Administrator Recruitment

Las Vegas, Nevada
(population 478,434)

In partnership with the school district, the city offers rental or mortgage buy-down assistance for teachers as an incentive to relocate to Las Vegas.  Based on family size and income, teachers can receive up to $30,000 toward a down payment and closing costs or up to $500 per month towards rent.  Teachers must live within the city in order to qualify for assistance.  

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San Jose, California
(population 894,943)

In 1999, the Mayor’s Teacher Homebuyer Program was established to help recruit teachers to the San Jose Area.  The program provides teachers with a deferred payment loan of up to $65,000 depending on income to help them purchase their first homes. 

To qualify for the program, a teacher must be employed full-time at a K-12 school that is either located within the City of San Jose municipal boundaries or other public schools where the majority of students served are San Jose residents.  As of February 2006, the City has helped over 500 teachers buy their first homes in the communities where they teach.  More information on the Homebuyer Program can be found on the San Jose Web site: http://www.sjhousing.org/program/thp.html.  

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Seattle, Washington
(population 563,374)
 
The Seattle Teacher Homebuyer Program provides up to $45,000 in financing to help eligible teachers purchase their first home.  Loans are provided at a 3% interest rate with no required payments for 30 years, or until the home is sold.  Eligibility is based on the city’s median income.  The program is overseen by the Office of Housing.  The city’s lending partner, Evergreen Home Loans, offers free credit counseling and also waives lender fees and discounts closing costs.  Fore more information visit http://www.emoneysource.com/teacher.asp.

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St. Petersburg, Florida
(population 248,232)

In 2005, Mayor Rick Baker created the Top Apple Awards program to recognize schools and principals that have earned an “A” grade by the state of Florida or have improved at least one letter grade from the previous year.  Awards and banners are given to the schools for display and principals receive complimentary prizes that have been donated by area businesses. 

Recent prizes have included gift certificates to local restaurants, a weekend package at a local resort, and cash bonuses.  The money for the cash bonuses was raised by Mayor Baker.  The A+ Housing Initiative offers 10 year forgivable interest free loans of $20,000 to teachers that agree to teach and live in St. Petersburg.

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