Instructors weigh options about teaching in California.
There are times when Marc Turetzky finds himself a bit envious of one of his former classmates at Florida State University who obtained her doctorate, a teaching job - and a home for $65,000 in Tallahassee.
A political science professor at Gavilan College in Gilroy, Turetzky can only dream of home ownership in a housing market where the median price for a home in the Silicon Valley bedroom community has risen to $425,000. And so, at age 37, Turetzky finds himself living much like he did in college, as a boarder. Turetzky rents out a room from a fellow Gavilan professor who was able to buy a home 20 years ago, when firefighters, police, teachers and college professors could afford them.
Not that he's complaining. Turetzky was lucky enough to find a "share" situation that includes a nice home only three blocks from campus.
"This is giving me a chance to save some money," Turetzky said philosophically.
A native Californian, Turetzky admits he experienced sticker shock after being out of the state for six years in Florida. His current salary of $55,000 would go much further there, he noted.
Not just housing
"It's not just the price of housing, it's produce, food, gas. Florida doesn't even have a state income tax. You have to really contend with a lot here," he said.
Still, Turetzky feels he's fortunate to be able to get a tenure-track position in his home state. And, with luck, he says, he may be able to buy a condominium in nearby Watsonville within a few years.
"Gilroy has really become a bedroom community for Silicon Valley. There are a lot of dot-commers moving here. You almost have to move 25 miles away to Watsonville to afford anything," he said.
Turetzky is not alone. While veteran instructors who have been teaching for a decade or more are firmly ensconced in homes they could easily afford at the time, newer faculty members are struggling as they weigh their dedication to academe versus their dreams of home ownership.
The housing crisis is also having an impact on faculty hiring at many colleges. "It's a real issue, not just on the Monterey Peninsula, but throughout the county," said Richard Montori, public information officer at Monterey Peninsula College. "The average home in our county is now $399,000, and on the Peninsula it probably exceeds $500,000. It makes it difficult to recruit faculty, once they see the housing costs."
Montori knows of one faculty member who has chosen to rent an apartment in Pacific Grove and is spending 60 percent of his salary on housing.
Housing on Fort Ord
Some newer faculty members at Gavilan have found housing at nearby California State Monterey Bay, on the site of the old Fort Ord. There, a handful of Gavilan faculty have been able to secure two-bedroom apartments that rent for $800 a month. While more housing is in the planning stages, much of what is currently available is limited.
The high cost of housing also has an impact on part-time instructors.
"One of our directors of CPFA (California Part-time Faculty Association) was recently hit very personally and came very close to losing her home," said Chris Storer, a director of CPFA and CCA member who teaches philosophy at De Anza College in Cupertino.
"We are ending up with more and more part-time faculty who are forced to live here because their spouses work here, or those who are retired and already have their homes here," Storer said.