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Mililani High School is prepared to host Hawaii’s first on-campus teacher housing project, but a shortage of funding and pushback from staff and families could slow progress. 

The School Facilities Authority, a state agency responsible for building new schools and workforce housing, awarded the project to the Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. in August. The project, which is tentatively scheduled to finish in early 2030, will create over 100 affordable one- and two-bedroom units for teachers.

Teachers working at any Oahu public school would receive priority for the units, followed by education department employees and then members of the public. 

Lawmakers and principals say they’re hopeful more affordable housing will help teachers cope with Hawaii’s high cost of living and stay in the state. As of last year, the Hawaii Department of Education offered just over 50 rentable housing units for teachers, but they were only available in rural areas of the state. Schools started the academic year with over 160 teacher vacancies in August.

But some families and educators say there’s been little community input in the development of Mililani’s housing plan so far. The proposed site for the apartment complex would replace the school’s garden and agricultural classrooms, and some teachers say the proposed rent prices seem unreasonable.

The project first faced funding shortfalls when Gov. Josh Green reduced its budget to $5 million earlier this year following budget constraints from the Maui wildfires.

Lawmakers had initially appropriated $170 million for teacher housing in 2023, proposing sites at Mililani as well as at schools in Nanakuli, Waipahu and on the outer islands. The authority chose Mililani as a pilot site but said it hopes to build more teacher housing at other school campuses in the future.

“The deal is, there’s zero money right now,” authority Director Riki Fujitani said, adding that the $5 million from the state is helping to vet proposals and choose a contractor for the project.

The authority’s contractor, the Pacific Housing Assistance Corp., has pledged to build Mililani’s teacher housing without state funds. The company plans to lease a portion of Mililani High School’s land from the authority and will fund, build and run the housing project on its own. At the end of the 65-year lease, the company will turn over the project to the state.

But the company’s proposed location for the project has proved unpopular with some students and teachers.

Currently, the company plans to build housing where the classrooms and gardens for the school’s agricultural program are located, citing the site’s close proximity to city sewer and water lines. The company has offered to rebuild the garden in another part of the school, but students and teachers want to keep the original site.

Many students and alumni have a strong connection to the garden and take pride in the space they’ve created for over a decade, said Mililani High School teacher Mary Miura-Aguinaldo. Moving the garden would mean uprooting ulu trees and disrupting projects where students donate indigenous plants to the Waianae Mountains Watershed and grow produce for the school’s culinary program, she added.

“It’s become a special community gathering place,” Miura-Aguinaldo said.

At a community meeting on Thursday night, authority officials reassured attendees that the proposed location for teacher housing isn’t set in stone. The developer hasn’t entered into a formal contract with the state, the authority’s policy and program officer Cheri Nakamura said, and the company could still modify where it plans to locate the apartments based on the public’s input.

“It is a proposal,” Nakamura said. “It’s not a contract, it’s not a done deal.” She added the company is considering the cost of building housing in a parking lot in the far corner of Mililani’s campus, which the authority had originally identified as an ideal spot for the project.

Some community members also questioned the level of teacher interest in the project during Thursday’s meeting.

Mililani High School teacher Sarah Miranda said she’s unsure if teachers will want to live in such close proximity to campus, adding that the proposed site is only 30 feet away from her classroom. The suggested rents also seem steep for a teacher, she added.

Since the project consists of affordable housing units, Fujitani said, rent is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, not the authority or its contractor. The units are available to those making less than roughly $117,000 a year and could cost up to $3,100 for a one-bedroom and $3,700 for a two-bedroom unit. 

In Hawaii, a licensed teacher could have a starting salary of just over $53,300. Those teachers would pay between $1,300 and $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment. 

It’s unlikely that experienced teachers with higher salaries would seek on-campus housing, Miranda said, especially if they’re trying to save for a house or a condo where they could retire. But, she added, she could see the apartments appealing to educators from the mainland who are looking for a temporary place to stay in their first years of teaching.

Even with community concerns, said Mililani High School Principal Fred Murphy, he’s hopeful the project could help with teacher recruitment and retention across the state. Principals are constantly helping new hires find cheap furniture or roommates to reduce their expenses, Murphy added, and he’s seen hires return to the mainland because of Hawaii’s high cost of living. 

“This is really about trying to find one more piece to the puzzle to make it more affordable for teachers to live and work here,” Murphy said. “And when they have the peace of mind with secure housing, they’re going to do a better job educating our youth.” 

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.