5 Teachers Get Free Rent At Troubled Md. Complex

Three months ago, Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson denounced living conditions at 22 rental complexes that he called breeding grounds for homicide, robbery and other crime. He proposed to clean them up or shut them down.

This week, public schoolteacher DaShawna Jackson, 28, moved her mattresses, stereo, goldfish and other possessions into a three-bedroom apartment in one of the targeted complexes. She was thrilled. The unit came with wall-to-wall carpeting, a gas range, a frost-free refrigerator, patio, vertical blinds, 1 1/2 bathrooms and a walk-in closet. Steps away are a swimming pool and playground for her 5-year-old daughter.

And her rent is zero.

Under an unusual deal Johnson (D) cut with the landlord to upgrade the property, Jackson and four other teachers from a nearby school can live for free at Forest Creek Apartments in Forestville as long as they keep their jobs and tutor neighborhood children.

Some call the deal unheard of. With annual salaries just over $40,000, the five teachers essentially are receiving an after-tax housing bonus of more than $12,000 a year. Indefinitely.

Toss in a $500 moving-expense subsidy, free water and gas service and a commute to Samuel P. Massie Elementary School of just half a mile and it becomes clear why Jackson is celebrating. She will no longer have to ask her mother for an extra $50 to pay the monthly bills.

"Number one is not having to stress out about rent being paid," said Jackson, a fourth-grade teacher. "It'll help with savings tremendously."

Jackson and her husband and daughter will have more living space than the cramped studio apartment they left behind in Alexandria.

And she can forget those dicey commutes over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. "I'm loving that," Jackson said. On a good day, it took her 20 minutes to get to school. "A bad day? Oh, Lord. A two-hour delay."

In the surging Washington area real estate market, affordable housing is increasingly scarce for teachers and others on modest salaries.

To help, school systems have raised teacher pay in recent years, sometimes offering signing bonuses or small housing subsidies. Charles County schools are working with a developer to reserve 30 affordable apartments for teachers, although not rent-free. For five years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has helped nearly 1,000 educators buy government-owned homes at half-price in Maryland, Virginia and the District through "Teacher Next Door."

But free rent for five?