The Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) employs approximately 13,000 classroom teachers covering 258 public and charter schools. Recognizing the importance of supporting educators, the Hawai‘i State Legislature tasked SFA with developing affordable workforce housing as one strategy to help attract and retain qualified teachers statewide.
Hawai‘i continues to face a critical teacher shortage—driven in part by the high cost of housing. In the 2022–2023 school year alone, more than 835 teachers resigned, with nearly half leaving the state. Each year, anywhere from 300 to 1,000 positions remain unfilled, reducing instructional quality, limiting course offerings, impacting school stability, and interrupting student learning.
To accelerate the delivery of teacher housing, SFA is leveraging a Design-Build-Operate-Finance-Maintain (DBOFM) model. This public-private partnership shifts project responsibilities—including financing, construction, and long-term maintenance—to experienced private developers. In return, the private party receives fees from end users for a specified period, after which control is transferred back to the state. This structure is preferred because it shifts most project risks to the private sector and allows the state to undertake projects beyond its financial or technical capacity.
