Life at 6,000 feet with 325 square feet: Inside the housing crisis for school employees in our mountain towns

Math Teacher Brian Trommater said he hit the jackpot when he landed a job at Eagle Valley Middle School, but was suddenly thrown into a fight with hundreds of other people all looking for affordable housing in the area.

"The trick was actually finding a place to live, I had to stay at a hotel down the street for a while and just really get lucky," Trommater said. 

Lucky for him, he did get lucky. He was able to spot an ad for a little place in Gypsum and jumped on it right away. 

"I couldn't be happier to have this place," Trommater said. "It's about 325 square feet... not much room, but it is safe, it's nice, it has beautiful views."

"I won the lottery getting to live here in one of the greatest places ever."

For many, that's not the case. Just in the last month, Eagle County School Superintendent Philip Qualman sent out a letter asking any and all residents of Eagle County to consider renting extra space (or vacent second homes) to our school staff.   

Eric Gotthelf in Minturn saw that notice and along with his wife, decided they would open their third bedroom up to one of those teachers. 

"On a personal note, my wife's mom is a teacher, her grandma is also a teacher," Gotthelf said. "So we kinda have a soft spot for teachers. I also grew up here and know how difficult the housing market is and rental market especially."

Gotthelf said they used to rent out the third bedroom before COVID, but during that and also having a new baby in the house, they had put it out of their minds. Now that they heard about the dire need, they have rented it back out to a local kindergarten teacher at a massive discount.  

"Five hundred to $600 a month less than what market rate is, which is insane," Gotthelf said about the general market situation. 

He said the situation for teachers can be extremely complex, housing crisis aside. Their tenant told them she didn't land well coming from another continent. 

"It was a very temporary solution that she had found so that she could stay here, and she is from Columbia so having to live in a foreign place like this and far away from home," Gotthelf said. "We are happy to have her."

Sacrifices are a part of the game, according to Trommater. He said if his spot in Gypsum had not opened up when it had, he would be living a different life. 

"I almost took a place in Edwards for $2,100, very small place and then it is also going to be 5 hours of commuting a week around the clock."

He admitted that his luck finding a spot was also due to his leg up with renters; he's only looking for a spot for himself, no pets or family. 

"If you have a family it is going to be tough," Trommater said. "If you are younger and don't mind roommates, sacrificing that it is another way to go."

"I think it is a major problem, there are teachers who can't take the job because they can't find a place... I had a student who straight up said to me they can't make rent and have to move. It's so sad."

Still, in CBS Colorado's last conversation with the superintendent, he told us the focus should not be on the housing issues, but rather the funding for K-12 teachers across the state. That's something Gotthelf agreed with, saying the housing is a symptom that could be addressed with better pay for educators and school staff. 

"Wholeheartedly, I think teachers are grossly underpaid from what I've seen," Gotthelf said. "It's a profession that is incredibly important not just for the kids but the future as well so more funding for teachers is incredibly important. It is a job of passion for a lot of there guys and being able to pay them fairly is a part of that to help keep those good teachers in place for a long period of time is incredibly important. "