The public school board is looking for affordable accommodation for its teachers in Jasper and is interested in working with the municipality to make it happen.

According to Edward Latka, superintendent of business services with Grande Yellowhead Regional Division, the school board has had ‘preliminary discussions’ with the municipality to discuss housing options for its teachers.

“Jasper has significant restrictions,” said Latka. “When trying to recruit new teachers, they face the cost of establishing a home in a community,” Latka said. 

The school board is concerned housing prices will become prohibitive for teachers in Jasper.

“We’re waiting for the right opportunity to pursue,” Latka said.

The lack of rental accommodation and high housing prices are seen as a barrier to attracting teachers, Latka said. The board is waiting to hear what restrictions the municipality would put on a developer if such a deal were reached.

“We’re looking at the opportunities that exist and the best use of public funds,” Latka said.

Unlike other capital projects, in order to purchase housing in Jasper, the school board would have to use its reserves or redirect instructional dollars to the project. Latka said he doesn’t want to subsidize housing, but he wants to ensure it’s affordable for teachers.

“It has to be affordable, but self sustaining,” Latka said. 

Housing in Jasper is identified as a ‘significant business and financial risk’ in the school board’s 2009/2010 budget report.

Latka said all public institutions in Jasper face similar problems with housing. He stresses the board isn’t looking to create low-income housing, but affordable housing in Jasper.

Supplying housing to teachers is not new to Alberta. Several boards across the province used to build ‘teacherages’ to house staff, however GYRD does not have such structures. Grand Cache was also identified as a ‘special area’ where housing needs would need to be met.

Latka said housing costs present a problem when recruiting teachers, and that teacherages are one potential solution.

Jasper Jr./Sr. High School had to replace one teacher for the upcoming school year. Despite the housing challenges, principal Mark Crozier said Jasper is a marketable destination for new teachers.

Keith Shepherd, manager of the Jasper Housing Corporation, said the town has made the school board and the RCMP aware of the town’s 15- year plan to bring housing onto the market.

“But we’re not ready to build yet,” Shepherd said. “If all the vacant land is used in housing, there would be a mix of duplex, quadplex and apartments,” Shepherd said.

“We’ve had a goodly number of houses constructed over the past ten years, but they have not stayed affordable. The co-op units are the only ones that have stayed affordable because they are indexed.”

Town manager George Krefting, who sits on the housing corporation board, said all businesses will be able to take advantage of housing projects, when they go ahead. The town has had an application to Parks Canada since August 2008 to release reserve lands for housing. The application is waiting on the town’s sustainability plan, which will be open for public comment in September, Krefting said.