ArcticSounder.com

Hannah Hembuch

In congress this week, Sen. Mark Begich introduced the Rural Educator and American Community Housing Act. If the bill passes, it would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to distribute $50 million in grants and loan guarantees for housing that supports teachers, public safety officers, and medical professionals in rural America.

It's no secret that the cost of living in rural Alaska is high. And nowhere is it higher than in the Northwest Arctic. Fuel, food, housing — everything gets knocked up the price scale the farther it travels. This is a reality the Arctic region is all too familiar with.

But to say it's expensive to live in rural Alaska, is sort of like saying the Sahara is a little hot. There's a lot more to it.

"Knowing the remoteness and isolation of some of our rural communities, it can be very difficult to keep professionals on the job for the long-term in these key fields," Begich said in a recent release. "This bill allows for some financial support for new housing construction, or renovation and repair of housing units. We need quality educators, public safety professionals and medical folks in our communities. Having stable housing can make the difference for someone deciding whether to accept or stay in a job."

In the same release, representatives from the Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Regional Housing Authority's Association of Village Council Presidents praised the bill's support of one of Alaska's great areas of need.

Bobby Schaeffer is well aware of this need — for service professionals and the rest of the Northwest's citizens. Schaeffer is the Public Services Director for the Northwest Arctic Borough.

"All the communities are strapped for housing," Schaeffer said. "We have a public safety officer that wants to go to Buckland, but there's not one house there to accommodate (him)."

The houses that are in the villages are full, Schaeffer said. Families who acquired housing in the 80s and 90s are now living with multiple generations in each household. It's no wonder there are no rentals available for entering professionals, he said. Young families have no option to strike out in their own abode, because the cost of building has reached almost unbelievable levels.

A house that cost $35,000 or $40,000 to build 20 years ago, Schaeffer said, has a price tag of half a million dollars in today's villages. Construction is running at about $1,000 per square foot, versus the $75-$80 of not so long ago, he said.

With many villagers living a subsistence lifestyle, Schaeffer pointed out, and the low number of day jobs, few residents would have the financial stability to qualify for such a large home loan.

Individuals aren't the only ones who can't reach the bar.

"The housing authority wants to go to Buckland, for example, and build five houses," Schaeffer said. "But they probably have 20 applicants. The money isn't there, and it's a real problem."

The school district sees the same issues, said assistant superintendent, Dr. Annmarie O'Brien. In Kotzebue itself, they keep an eye out for available rentals and connect landlords with incoming teachers, she said.

Right now, O'Brien has a list of eight to 10 teachers arriving in August, and still hasn't found housing for them. She estimated that one-bedroom houses start around $1200 per month and go up from there. And unlike some places, renters don't shop around.

"There's no looking a place over to see if you like it," O'Brien said. "It's really a matter of getting your foot in the door."

Outside of Kotzebue, the Northwest Arctic Borough provides housing for its rural teachers — it's the only way they'd be able to guarantee a teacher a place to sleep. Still, the cost of maintaining the homes presents a huge challenge, O'Brien said.

"It's a quality of life issue. (So) of course it's a teacher retention issue," she said.

In some villages, like Noatak and Ambler, the building of new schools has allowed the district to renovate the old buildings for teacher housing.

Schaeffer sees current housing challenges as a beacon for the need for significant, effective changes in many areas, or the outlook will continue to dim.

"People really struggle out here," he said. "And it's not going to get any better, especially as the price of fuel increases each year."

Hannah Heimbuch can be reached at hheimbuch@reportalaska.com.

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