By MORGAN WOMACK
Capital News Service
LANSING – Amber Groenke holds three jobs. While she’s an education assistant at West Ottawa High School, she also works at an Ulta Beauty store and as a DoorDash driver.
Last summer, she was homeless.
Housing prices in Holland were too high compared to her $15.50-an-hour pay as an education assistant. While searching for housing, she commuted back and forth to work from her parents’ house — an hour and a half drive from the high school.
“I definitely do not get paid what I’m worth,” Groenke said.
She tried resources like Michigan 211, the Salvation Army and more. However, she said housing waitlists ranged from one to two years long.
Groenke has since settled into a place in Holland with roommates, but said she struggles to fit in with the community.
She isn’t the only educator who’s wrestled with the challenges of affording housing in the area.
It’s such a problem that the Holland Educational Foundation created an initiative to assist struggling public school teachers in the Holland Public School District.
Called Teachers Live Here, the program will give $25,000 to 10 teachers annually, with the money earmarked for their down payment on housing. This is the first year of the program.
Holland Public Schools Superintendent Nick Cassidy said an anonymous donor is funding the initiative for a minimum of seven years. He said he hopes assistance from other donors will keep the program alive.
Lillian Snoeyink, who teaches first grade at Holland Language Academy, was the first to win a grant.
Cassidy said since Snoeyink received the award, she found a house in Holland and is working through the process to close on the deal.
“Any public school who’s struggling with retaining teachers and teachers struggling to afford houses in their district would benefit from something like this for sure,” Cassidy said. “Anything we can do to recruit the best and retain good teachers is going to help a community.”
Paula Herbart, the president of the Michigan Education Association, said incentives like Holland’s help alleviate the high cost of living in some Michigan communities.
She said it’s crucial for students in areas like Holland to have connections with their teachers who live in the same community as them.
The West Ottawa district where Groenke works doesn’t have a similar initiative.
While Groenke said she likes the idea of Teachers Live Here, she doesn’t trust the long-term feasibility of the program because the money comes from a private donor.
“I come from a background of poverty, where I didn’t have a good start to life financially,” Groenke said. “It’s hard relying on others to have that backing.”
To feel stable in her community, Groenke said teaching as a career has to change statewide so teachers are paid and valued more.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot I can do about it except advocate for it,” Groenke said.
“On the flip side of that, I’m thankful for my job and my insurance and my coworkers. It makes it a great place to work. There just needs to be some sort of change and more value in it,” she said.
West Ottawa High School biology teacher Samantha DeBoer commutes from Rockford every day, a drive she said can take up to two hours each way. She stays after school to coach lacrosse and doesn’t get home until after 6 p.m.
DeBoer lives with her parents while she saves for a house. As a first-year teacher, she makes $41,000.
She said if West Ottawa were to have a program like the one for Holland teachers, she would “hands-down move to Holland.”
“If I were able to move closer, it would take that strain off,” DeBoer said. “I could put more time into my own mental health or making lesson plans for my students or going the extra mile (for teaching) where I’m not spending that time driving.”