MIDLAND - It seems like almost everyone in the Permian Basin is feeling the effects of the high cost of living and it's no secret that our school districts are suffering to hire educators because of it. But Midland ISD is doing everything they can to help local teachers with those monthly payments after an opportunity came their way to team up with a generous organization.
"We're teaming up with the Scharbauer Foundation. The Scharbauer Foundations has just begun to make their mark on Midland," Jami Owen, Executive Director of the Midland ISD Education Foundation, said.
With the new partnership, the school district said they have one goal in mind.
"To help alleviate such high rent burdens that our teachers are facing," Owen said.
Midland ISD also tells NewsWest 9 that the stipends are not limited to new hires, the district says they have an assortment of applicants.
"We have young and old teachers, brand new teachers and teachers that are veteran teachers," Owen said.
About 250 hopeful teachers have applied and The Scharbauer Foundation, along with Midland ISD, have created a system to narrow down the candidates.
"We have a rubric, it's a weighted rubric. The grant specifies a number of items and so we score according the what the grant has specified," Owen said.
For those who qualify the district will calculate the stipend. It will be 40 percent, up to $500 of their rent.
However, the district is hopeful that the stipends won't be needed for long.
"What we hope happens is that the builders in Midland catch up to the demand and so when that starts to happen, the market will take care of itself and the rents will begin to ease," Owen said.
