School districts/villages with teacher housing and pets

[SassySunshine]

I have along list of districts/schools that are advertising positions in my field. In doing my research I’m not finding it easy to narrow down based upon which ones allow pets in teacher housing. If any of you have experience with any of these areas, I would appreciate knowing if pets are allowed, how many, how much pet rent is and your personal experience (if any).
I would also love any insight on teacher housing - costs, quality, proximity to school, etc.
Thank you in advance!

Togaik
White Mountain
Kodiak HS
Unalakleet
Stebbins
Ruby
Thorne Bay
Nikiski
Newhalen
Yakutat
Akiak
Valdez HS
Angoon
Annette Island
Nome
Whittier Elementary
Hoonah
Kotzebue Middle/H
Iditarod
Kokhanok School

[Johncn]

Hello,

Good topic, and easy to document this for others. The info you are looking for is going to be in the public "Negotiated Agreement" - the teachers' union contract - for each school district in Alaska. All you have to do is use Google to search a string something like this, and it will find most of the documents you need in Acrobat (PDF) format: "Alaska school district Negotiated agreement .pdf". You can also try inserting parts of the name for the specific district you are looking at to narrow the field a bit.

Here is the information for BSSD, as I have the information handy in their current negotiated agreement:



As you can see, pets are allowed in (most) teacher housing, and there is a $20 per pet monthly fee, with a maximum of three pets. Pets are also defined. The villages that included in the Bering Strait School District from your list are:

[*]White Mountain
[*]Unalakleet
[*]Stebbins

Hope this helps, and it will be interesting to get the details on other districts in this thread. It's a common question each year as the recruiting season heats up.

Also, you can easily determine what school district each of the villages you listed above is part of by typing the name in at this address at Alaska EED:

https://education.alaska.gov/DOE_Rolodex/SchoolCalendar/

Regards,

Johncn

[SassySunshine]

Thank you John C!
This is great info!
If a negotiated agreement does not mention teacher housing should I assume that it’s not offered?

[Johncn]

If teacher housing is not mentioned in the negotiated agreement, it's not likely that it is provided, but I guess it is possible some don't list it. If you post the name of a district here, someone will likely know for sure, or can check. As a rule, road system districts don't provide housing, and rural districts do. There are some exceptions. You can read more about the terms used like "Bush", "regional hub" and "village" here the main ATP site:

http://www.alaskateacher.org/about_alaska.php

Regards,

John

[AKteacher86]

I taught in Togiak during the 2014/15 school year and also lived in pet housing. I have been to another bush village since and can tell you that Togiak has exceptional teacher housing. The pet housing units are all two bedrooms and quite spacious (they even include a stand alone chest freezer)! They are fully furnished, reasonably priced (I believe $900 which includes your heat), and about a 1 mile walk to school. The fact that you do not have to pay heat will save you $300+ a month compared to other villages.

Good luck with your search!

[Mrs.M]

I noticed Newhalen on your list and thought I'd mention that Lake and Peninsula SD is very pet-friendly. I have two dogs and have taught in the district for a couple of years. The district requires a pet deposit, but no monthly fee for having pets. Housing at most of our sites is very close to the school (my house is only about 20 steps away) and it is very nice. I am easily able to go home at lunch every day and walk my dogs. The housing is also extremely affordable and we do not pay utilities. Newhalen is a very good community to get into. The teachers there love it and they have very low turnover compared to a lot of bush villages. There are teachers there who like it so much they've built homes and have been living there for 10+ years. It's a gorgeous area too.

If you have any questions about the district I'd be happy to answer them. I am a bit biased, but LPSD is a very good district!

[SassySunshine]

Thank you for your thoughtful responses!
This is all really good information and a lot to process.
Those who have said hiring happens quickly in the teaching field in AK are spot on! I have one offer on the table, an interview this afternoon and a couple of districts that I’m hoping to hear back from.

[kazachka]

Yupiit SD
I don't have any critters but many teachers do.-500$pet deposit you can have up to 3 pets. There is a NO LIVESTOCK (yes for real) clause in our leases. I pay 850$ for a 2br w/ a sweet garage for my winter toys I walk less than 100m to school. I also have my own laundry room. Most units do, but a couple share a laundry room.

[kazachka]

I taught in Togiak during the 2014/15 school year and also lived in pet housing. I have been to another bush village since and can tell you that Togiak has exceptional teacher housing. The pet housing units are all two bedrooms and quite spacious (they even include a stand alone chest freezer)! They are fully furnished, reasonably priced (I believe $900 which includes your heat), and about a 1 mile walk to school. The fact that you do not have to pay heat will save you $300+ a month compared to other villages.

Good luck with your search!

from
HEAT included is a HUGE plus! I am saving a good 500$+- a month on utilities and I was paying that ON the road system!!! I paid said 500 or so to heat on average to between 55-60 degrees. BRR! Utilities like lights and propane can kill if you have to pay for them in a rural area. Oil is less but still heat included is worth its weight in gold.

[mrharvilla]

Southwest Region (Togiak) has great housing that is pet friendly.

[jamieburgess]

Nome Public Schools is an awesome district (blatant plug here). However, we are a hub and don't offer the same housing situation you will find in more rural districts. We have a teacher apartment building located next to the high school, but there is usually a waiting list. The majority of our staff rent apartments or homes in town, but we do have a transitional housing building - the district dorms - where staff have a private one or two bedroom, with shared bathrooms and kitchen space. If you choose to come here, you will also want to have a vehicle or ATV to get around, as the district office/charter school and high school are about 4 miles outside of town, where the shopping, restaurants, churches, rec center, post office, etc. are all located.