A survey of state-owned teachers cottages shows the facilities are in such disrepair that it's more difficult to recruit and retain teachers for those areas, according to state education officials.

The survey was touched off by complaints of poor conditions on Maui and the pending transfer of the cottages to state Department of Education control in 2008.

The cottages are primarily in remote Neighbor Island communities, and the DOE already has trouble recruiting for those areas. The survey included 54 cottages with a total of 123 bedrooms in seven communities.

"Considering that the cottages are in some of the remotest areas we have, they're very critical for retention and recruitment purposes," said Gerald Okamoto, assistant superintendent in charge of the Office of Human Resources. "Some of the cottages, we can't maximize occupancy because of the condition they're in."

The issue arose in April when teachers staying at cottages in Hana, Maui, complained about sharing their living spaces with rodents, termites, roaches and mold, and said repairs were not being made.

Stephanie Aveiro, executive director of the Housing Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i, which now manages the cottages, said the loss of the previous Hana cottages manager left no one available to handle repairs on-site.

The problems at cottages on other islands mirror those that have plagued the Hana cottages: mildew, termites, weak flooring, rotten siding, crumbling porch stairs, rodents, septic tank back-up, unusable plumbing, and broken screens and window louvers, among many others.

TO-DO LIST

The DOE surveyed the condition of the cottages statewide and found more issues. The survey was done after the Hana complaints, but primarily in preparation for transfer of the teacher-housing program from the Housing Community Development Corp. of Hawai'i to the DOE in 2008 as mandated by the Legislature this year.

DOE officials sent a letter on June 16 to the HCDCH outlining a list of major repairs needed to cottages throughout the Islands before the DOE assumes control.

"This was done to ensure the buildings are turned over in good repair," said Bruce Shimomoto, DOE recruitment specialist. "We want to bring it to their attention so by the time they give them to us, these things are corrected."

The two departments hope to meet soon to discuss repairs cited by DOE, but may not until the end of July.

Aveiro says the DOE list must first be meshed with her agency's own list to prioritize repairs. Repairs are always ongoing, Aveiro said, but it can be difficult for her department to do them because of the requirement of three bids, even for jobs under $1,000. Some remote areas have few handymen, she said.

"We are very well aware of the condition of the teachers' cottages," Aveiro said. "Some are in great shape. And we have project plans we try to keep to (for repairs.)"

When there are complaints, Aveiro said, the agency does an assessment. "Most of the time we get no complaints. I think they're appreciative."

The cottage rent is modest — $250 a month per bedroom or $300 a month for a whole unit with kitchen and bath — and the rent is expected to pay for maintenance. Plus, there's a reserve fund of about $800,000 for larger repairs such as reroofing.

But HCDCH has a cap of $300,000 for what it can spend annually on the cottages. That was raised a couple of years ago by the Legislature from the previous cap of $250,000.

"We haven't been spending all of it — a lot of it is just the priorities and people available to do the work," said Michael Hee, the housing agency's chief for private management contracts.

FUTURE CONVERSATION

Aveiro said she recognizes that the DOE uses the cottages as a recruiting tool, and she says she'll sit down and discuss with the DOE what condition the cottages should be in when they're turned over to the department in 2008.

"That should be a discussion later," she said. "We will continue to maintain and repair and go through our priority list and our projected projects. ... Come the end of July we'll discuss that and have an agreement as to what projects and priorities. As we get closer to 2008 it would be appropriate to talk about what final things (should be done) and how it should look."

But DOE officials want work started soon to better maintain the structures now.

"If you don't start paying attention to these issues, they become destructive," Okamoto said. "We need to meet with them and see what are their priorities and what are ours. That list is extensive."

He said one of the biggest concerns is that some areas have no managers for the units. Often it's the manager who takes care of smaller repairs, such as leaky faucets, or calls a plumber or electrician to handle those types of smaller issues.

COTTAGE CLASH

The teachers cottages have been a sore point between the two departments for many years. Aveiro points out that maintaining the cottages is not the primary job of her agency, which is responsible for all public housing — approximately 7,600 units throughout the state. And because of the constraints of bidding and the lack of contractors in many areas, it's tough to move quickly, she said.

Statewide there are 54 cottages, with a total of 123 bedrooms. Because some of the units have several bedrooms, teachers live in a communal household, or bring families with them. This past year only about 80 of the bedrooms were occupied.

"We were projecting to receive about $212,000 (in rent) for the 2005-06 year," Aveiro said. "We have reserves we would use for the major things. There are some projects planned for a water-line improvement on Moloka'i and some roofing jobs."

Okamoto said the cottages are critical in some rural areas. He said for a new teacher, "there is no other place to live."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.