Schools grapple with new hires and high rental prices

A recently released report showed Bay Area schools are having a hard time finding teachers because of sky high rental prices. A similar situation is happening in Soledad.

First grade teacher Beatriz Mosqueda has lived in Soledad her entire life. It’s where she grew up, where her family lives. It’s why she decided to stay and make a difference in a child’s life.

“I know what these kids are facing,” Mosqueda said. “I grew up in this district. I know how hard it is to be a Spanish speaker coming into an English only classroom. I remember the struggle. I want to make it easy for these kids to achieve something.”

She’s the quality teacher the Soledad Unified School District is looking for. However, they are hard to find. That’s why school leaders took a field trip out of state.

“We have teachers from Alaska, Nebraska, Minnesota, Seattle, you name it,” Dr. Rupi Boyd, superintendent of Soledad Unified School District said. “All kinds of staff that came from all over. And the hardest sell for bringing people here is the housing. They get here and they have a hard time finding housing.”

Dr. Boyd said Soledad has mostly single family homes which many teachers can’t afford. There aren’t many apartments and the ones there are low income. That forces many to live in Salinas where there are more choices.

Save on rent, spend on gas. That’s why the district offers a vanpool, which some 30 teachers take advantage of. That’s not the only incentive out there. Teachers with a background in specialized subjects can make even more money.

“We increased the stipend for math teachers because we were having such a challenge finding qualified math teachers who teach higher level mathematics,” Dr. Boyd said. “And we did increase that stipend to $10,000.”

The school district is looking at ways to increase housing in its tiny community.

“There’s this whole tiny house movement that’s been really exciting that Santa Cruz and Hartnell have been working in conjunction with,” said Lisa Kleinhofer, assistant superintendent of Soledad Unified School District. “So we are interested in talking to Hartnell and other people who might be interested in contributing to our community to make it a reality.”

The district is short two teachers because of last minute resignations. NewsChannel 5 checked in with the local districts. Alisal Union School District had filled all of its positions. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District had a handful of positions still open.