S-0551.1/91       _______________________________________________

                         SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8402

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Senators Murray, Bailey, Rinehart, A. Smith and Pelz.

Read first time January 29, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Education.

Encouraging the establishment of housing assistance programs for teachers.

     WHEREAS, The quality of education is improved when teachers are able to work and live in the same community; and

     WHEREAS, In many areas of the state affordable housing is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity; and

     WHEREAS, The average cost of purchasing a house in large metropolitan areas of this state is in excess of one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars with monthly payments for mortgage, taxes, and insurance of almost sixteen hundred dollars a month; and

     WHEREAS, A person would need an annual income of at least fifty-three thousand dollars to qualify for a loan on a house; and

     WHEREAS, The highest paid teacher in the state only makes forty-two thousand dollars a year and that teacher is required to have a PhD and fifteen or more years' experience and a beginning teacher earns between twenty thousand dollars with a BA and twenty-three thousand nine hundred eighty dollars with an MA; and

     WHEREAS, Many teachers cannot afford to live in the areas in which they work making it more difficult for those teachers to maintain vital links with the school community including participation in after school activities; and

     WHEREAS, Housing assistance programs for teachers would help school districts and the state recruit and retain qualified teachers and improve the quality of education by enabling those teachers to live in the same communities as their students do; and

     WHEREAS, Programs are being designed around the country to help employees obtain affordable housing including group mortgage origination, closing cost subsidies, mortgage guarantees, group mortgage insurance, down payment loans, mortgage buydown programs, and the purchase of mortgagebacked securities; and

     WHEREAS, Both public and private entities exist in the state of Washington that are able to establish housing assistance programs for teachers;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the State of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That the establishment of housing assistance programs for teachers be encouraged and that public and private entities be encouraged to establish those programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature recognizes that encouraging the provision of housing assistance to teachers in the state of Washington will be an important inducement towards creating and maintaining excellent teachers and thus a high quality education system in the state of Washington; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Housing Finance Commission, the Department of Community Development, Housing Division, to distribute to interested parties throughout the state of Washington, to the Washington State School Directors Association to make available to school boards across the state, to the Washington Education Association, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.