Board authorizes staff to explore teacher-housing options with local land trust

The Transylvania County Schools Board of Education voted to allow Superintendent Dr. Robin Fletcher to continue exploring viable teacher‑housing options with a local community land trust and to return with more detail for later approval.

Fletcher presented results of a district survey and background on a long-discussed proposal to use district-owned land to support teacher housing through a community land trust. “I probably should have just added this first. 2001 was back when, this was first explored by the board,” Fletcher said, describing prior study of the site and the need to re-evaluate ground conditions.

Nut graf: The board’s authorization is for exploratory work only — staff will research site feasibility, legal structures (including a lease model), income-eligibility thresholds and potential funding. No contracts, leases or construction commitments were made at the meeting.

Survey and affordability details cited at the meeting: Fletcher said 16 teachers indicated they “need housing,” 28 more said they were “interested,” 21 reported commuting from other counties, and 19 are renting. Fletcher said first‑year teachers in the district earn about $41,000, and noted Transylvania County’s median household income from HUD tables is approximately $88,000; these figures factor into potential eligibility for affordable‑housing programs.

Board members asked detailed operational questions about how a land trust would select developers, how rental payments and maintenance would be handled, whether units could be reserved for teachers, and how CTE programs (including use of fields) would be affected. Fletcher and a Land Trust representative, Claudia Hawkins, both said the lease model would allow restrictions so teacher housing would be prioritized and that the land trust intends to pursue local grant funding and private resources to cover due diligence costs. Hawkins, a land trust board member, told the board the trust is a local nonprofit and said: “We have the same goal that the school system has to make sure there's housing for teachers, and that will be the number 1 goal of that property.”

The board voted in favor of allowing the superintendent to continue work with the land trust to identify viable options, study the site, and return with recommendations and verified eligibility details.

Ending: Staff will pursue due diligence and stakeholder meetings and return with a formal proposal and recommended next steps; the board explicitly requested transparency on income‑eligibility, operating models and a plan for reserving units for school employees if feasible.