Leading Question

>>That depends on which "we" we're talking about. Lee County public school district, which ranks as Florida's sixth-largest, with nearly 77,000 students and 4,770 teachers, has run short all year, with a deficit ranging from 50 teachers to the current 25. "I would say we have a severe shortage," says Greg Adkins, the district's executive director of human resources and employee relations.

Collier County, on the other hand, is running short by only a handful of teachers in its district of more than 43,000 children and about 2,500 faculty members. "The bottom line is that we haven't had a teacher shortage," says superintendent Ray Baker.

But differences between the districts begin to blur after the staffing issues and student population numbers are considered. Both organizations, for example, need science and special education teachers.

And there's another similarity that alarms officials: "What we do have is a teacher housing shortage," Baker says.

In Collier County, where the median price for a house hovers around $500,000, a rookie teacher earning about $33,000 isn't going to have much luck buying a home. So teachers tend to relocate, after a few years of renting, to a market where they can afford to buy. Or candidates get sticker shock when they price housing and wind up accepting jobs elsewhere. "Last year, we had approximately 20 [candidates] rescind their contracts," says Debbie Terry, director of instructional staffing and recruitment for the Collier district.

It's a similar story in Lee, where entry-level teachers make less than $31,000, Adkins says.

The affordability factor could significantly stress both counties, which continue to swell with new residents and school-age children, creating the need for additional faculty. Other factors that will increase the need for teachers are the Florida class-size amendment and stricter certification standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

To address staffing woes, the districts recruit heavily around the state, country and even overseas. In Lee, officials want to boost salaries and help recruits obtain financing for housing. And in Collier, superintendent Baker is exploring the feasibility of building affordable rental living units for teachers on district property, including school campuses.

"It's still in the fact-finding stage," says Terry.

-Phil Borchmann