The school has access to "close to 10" houses including four units in Queenstown’s Hamilton Rd, two Hallenstein St units nearby and two three-bedroom homes, all owned by the Ministry of Education, and a board-owned three-bedroom home.
"We’ve got a bit of a housing strategy to try to grow that and either secure some kind of head lease to be able to rent out [houses] to our incoming staff, our current staff, but also to try to build our portfolio of school-owned housing as well."
Towards that, a golf tournament was held in Arrowtown last Friday to raise money for the school’s teacher housing fund.
Nathan, whose staff numbers, including non-teaching staff, are about 150, says recruitment itself is pretty strong — "they want to come to Queenstown".
"But then, you know, after you’ve got staff with you for four or five years, they’re like, ‘I’m kind of ready to stop flatting and wouldn’t mind having my own piece of dirt’.
"And so that’s probably where we’re really trying to get into our strategy for retention because you put a lot of time and effort and energy in terms of developing teachers.
"And it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Queenstown or any place else in the country, you still get paid the same if you’re a teacher and so, you know, a teacher’s salary can go further in different places."
Nathan’s in no doubt it’s caused staff to leave — "and that’s something we want to try to stop".
He says he’s met with local Fowler Homes franchisee Jason McGirr, who’s planning to provide affordable housing for local teachers in the second stage of his Shotover Rise subdivision, near Shotover Country.
"That is definitely very much appreciated, and we’ve connected a couple of staff with him."
Also good news is one Wakatipu High teacher has made the cut already for Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust’s new Jopp St complex in Arrowtown.
Arrowtown School principal James Rasmussen notes his deputy principal’s (DP) off to Nelson "because the cost of living is a little bit better and he can get ahead a little bit better".
"I’ve got a young staff member who’s just left a house in Shotover Country, I think, and is commuting from Alexandra next year as she’s found the rent too high here."
Compounding the problem is Arrowtown, especially, has become very expensive to live.
In turn, Rasmussen says, that’s causing his school roll to flatline a bit while Queenstown’s Shotover and Hanley’s Farm primary schools, in particular, surge ahead.
