In Steamboat Springs, the view is world-class, the community is tight-knit and the teachers are among the most dedicated you’ll find anywhere.

But for the educators shaping the next generation, living in the town they serve has become a daily struggle defined by housing insecurity, second or third jobs, tolls on mental health and a constant juggling act just to get by.

“The cost of living in Steamboat Springs, especially housing, has reached a point where many of our teachers can no longer really afford to live in the community that they serve,” said Celine Wicks, superintendent of the Steamboat Springs School District. “They’re commuting from far distances, making incredible sacrifices just to remain in the field of education because they’re so passionate about it.”

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“This isn’t just about affordability, it’s about sustainability,” added Wicks.

The challenges facing Steamboat’s educators go far beyond paychecks and making rent. For many, the day-to-day reality is a marathon of emotional labor, financial anxiety and mental fatigue.

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“Everybody has tough jobs, but there’s something different about managing 25 or 30 personalities on a daily basis,” said Brad Weber, a STEM teacher at the middle school for over 20 years.

“I bought a tiny 700-square-foot house in 2003 with the help of something called the mortgage credit certificate,” said Weber. “There’s no way we could buy this house now on our salaries.”

“I’d be shocked if there were teachers who weren’t questioning what they’re doing on a regular basis,” he added. 

A recurring theme among all teachers interviewed was that, while the 12-17% pay raise last year helped ease some immediate financial stress, it didn’t solve the underlying challenges of housing and keeping up with the rising cost of living in Steamboat. 

Housing: the No. 1 challenge for teachers

For Steamboat’s teachers, housing isn’t just expensive: it’s often unattainable. 

Clint Koehler, a veteran teacher who’s spent 20 years teaching math and science at Steamboat Springs High School, recalled the sticker shock of buying even the modest condominium he purchased decades ago — his current residence to date — when his starting salary as a career teacher was just $28,500. 

“My condo has over tripled in value based on my neighbor that just sold,” said Koehler, who admitted that without financial help from his father, he wouldn’t have been able to afford to move to Steamboat. “Even if I did sell it … the market is out of control. That old idea of ‘get a starter house and then upgrade’ doesn’t seem very plausible at the moment.”

Weber noted that even in the early 2000s, his parents were shocked by how expensive housing was relative to his income. “I don’t know how anybody, unless they come with some sort of family money or some sort of help, would be able to come here from just a typical place and be able to get into the housing market,” he said. 

For single teachers or those without outside support, the situation can be even more precarious. 

“I am from the era of people who moved to Steamboat when you could be really gritty and resourceful and work four jobs, but to have a possible way to put down roots,” said Cindy Ruzicka, a seventh-grade English and social studies teacher who has worked for the district for 30 years. “Until I actually bought my house, I don’t think I ever didn’t have someone living on a couch to help us make ends meet.”

Jim Knapp, longtime band director for Steamboat Springs schools, was able to buy a manufactured home in Milner Mobile Home Park only because the lot rent was far lower than anything available in town — and only after the residents banded together to form a co-op and buy the land when the park was put up for sale. 

“If you’re single, divorced, whatever, it’s increasingly more difficult,” said Knapp, who is divorced himself. “There’s nothing within your budget, you move two or three or four times, and you start to just get to the point where you’re like, ‘The next step is out.'”

Kim Waldschmidt, a third-grade teacher at Soda Creek Elementary School who has worked in the district for 26 years, owned a single-family home with her husband in Milner for three years before selling it with the hopes of relocating out of state. When those plans fell through, the couple was forced back into renting. 

“Even with being in the later years in our careers, we probably could not break back into this market, even with the sale of our home two years ago,” said Waldschmidt, who was born and raised in Steamboat. “We were very cautious when we sold, and probably could have sold for more, but we sold to a young family trying to start a life here.”

“Home prices have just skyrocketed in the last two years, and we are now priced out of Steamboat, which is a little heartbreaking,” she added.

For newer teachers, the barriers are often even steeper.

One second-year teacher at the middle school, who asked to not be named due to their current employment status, said they would never have considered coming to Steamboat had they not already had family living here — family they’ve been living with since they moved a year-and-a-half ago with their partner because they have not been able to find housing otherwise. 

While this teacher, like several others interviewed, expressed their passion and adoration for teaching kids in Steamboat, they noted frequent discussions between themselves and their partner about the unsustainability of living indefinitely with family, the infeasibility of starting their own family given the housing crisis and the likelihood of their leaving the job, and the area, as a result.

The most recent effort to implement teacher workforce housing on land owned by the district at Whistler Park failed after residents near the park lobbied city council members and expressed concerns about losing valuable green space and recreational areas. 

“We had that land at Whistler, and the community at Whistler really was very vocal,” said Wicks. “We’re advocating for teacher priority housing in regional planning discussions … because we always hear about firemen and city employees and police officers, but they’re leaving out teachers in that conversation. We can’t have that.”

While affordable housing developments are often touted as a solution to the housing crisis in Steamboat, it simply isn’t an option for many teachers. 

“As a 20-year teacher, I don’t even qualify to fill out the paperwork for affordable housing, which I think is sad,” said Koehler, who is a member of the teachers union Collective Bargaining Team. “Well over half of our pay scale wouldn’t even qualify for affordable housing in this valley.”

The housing crisis, combined with low teacher pay in general, has and continues to have direct consequences for the district’s ability to recruit and retain teachers. 

“We’ve had extremely qualified candidates accept a position only to then call us back shortly thereafter, saying, ‘I can’t find a place to live, or I’m not being paid enough to accept that place that I found to live,'” said Koehler, who has sat on multiple interview committees for the district. “So we are losing qualified candidates because they can’t afford to live here, even though they want to be here.”

Second, third, sometimes fourth, jobs: the rule, not the exception

Ask a Steamboat teacher about their workweek, and you’re likely to get a list of side hustles that would exhaust anyone. 

“I’ve managed a golf shop, worked as a golf assistant pro, worked as a bag boy, delivered pizzas for four years, worked retail in the summers, played music gigs, and taught skiing on weekends,” said Knapp. 

“Working two and three extra jobs just to manage, being a single father and trying to pay for your daughter … you don’t have the expendable income,” he added. “It gets harder and harder and harder in this community with the rents being completely unattainable now.”

Koehler has worked as a barista, server, bartender, volleyball coach and tutor.

“A lot of things were like, ‘Oh, if I do this, then that means I have an opportunity to play and enjoy the town that I live in,'” said Koehler, noting that if he was receiving a higher salary, he wouldn’t have to work so many jobs on the side.

Jenn Sherman, an eighth-grade math and science teacher at the middle school, has tutored, catered and worked as a summer school teacher. Her husband, also a teacher in the district, works for a hot air balloon company during the summers to help the family pay the bills. 

“This will be the first summer in 28 years that I have not worked,” said Waldschmidt of the upcoming summer. “During the school year, I cleaned the law office for around 15 years every weekend, I tutored for quite a few years, and in the summer, I catered for Catamount Ranch & Club for many years, working almost full-time.” 

In addition to the many jobs Waldschmidt and Sherman have worked over the years in tandem with teaching, they are the president and vice president, respectively, of the Steamboat Springs Education Association, also known as the teachers union. 

While the workload “ebbs and flows with negotiations,” both teachers say they are spending, on average, at least five hours a week for these unpaid but important roles. 

“It’s text, it’s calling, it’s zooming. It’s driving to Denver to go to lobby days or the Day of Action kind of thing,” said Sherman. “Driving to conferences that are of course never here, spending a night or two at those locations, time away from our families and whatnot, meetings for hours on end, meetings prior to the meetings, pre-meetings before the pre-meetings, and then post-meeting debriefings.” 

While Waldschmidt referred to the union work as a “labor of love,” she, too, noted the stress of the additional responsibility to her existing workload as a third-grade teacher. 

“I will say, it contributed to my divorce,” said Knapp of his constant scramble to balance work and life. “It just completely erodes your ability to be home and be that parent that you want to be, and then, and you’re still not making enough, right? That was the brutal, harsh reality. Even after all that work, you’re still living paycheck to paycheck.”

The mental and emotional toll

The financial strain and relentless workload, both in and out of the classroom, often have serious repercussions for teachers’ mental health. 

“I see a counselor monthly,” said Knapp. “I’ve battled depression pretty hardcore. There’s some times where it was really bad. A lot of feelings of not being enough, never being able to say ‘yes’ when it comes time for your kid to do something, and just not having the money to do it … It makes you feel horrible.”

“I hit bottom probably 10 years ago. I walked on the first day of school. I cried. I walked up to my principal, and I said, ‘I can’t do this again. I’m done,'” Knapp continued. “And they just pulled me aside, and they said, ‘You’ll be fine.’ And I said, ‘No, I can’t do it, man.'” 

“I have not taken a vacation for myself and my daughter in 12-13 years,” he added. “I mean, not even a week in Moab.”

“There have been times where I will, depending on what’s happened during the day, have meltdowns occasionally at home because this is a hard job, and it’s emotional,” said Waldschmidt. “Responsibility that we have to do right by every student we come in contact with, and to build those relationships and have relationships with families and those connections. It’s heavy, and there are times where you feel you’re letting down a student or a family, or the reverse — those parents come at you when you’re giving it your all.”

Hope, and uncertainty, for the future

Despite the challenges, Steamboat’s teachers remain fiercely dedicated to their students and their community. 

“This is not about luxury,” Wicks said. “It’s about allowing educators to live and raise families in the community that they serve. And when we invest in our educators’ well-being, we invest in the future of our students in our town.” 

But as the cost of living continues to climb and the gap between salaries and housing costs widens, the future remains uncertain. “We need community-wide, cross-sector solutions, and that includes partnerships with the city, the county and maybe private developers as well,” Wicks said. “The scale of the problem exceeds the resources we have as a district.”

For now, Steamboat’s teachers will continue teaching, coaching, mentoring and working multiple jobs — whatever it takes to keep showing up for the students they care so deeply about. 

“We always get a pat on the back, but a pat on the back doesn’t pay the bills,” said Knapp. “Good references don’t pay the bills. The view doesn’t pay the bills. And we do it willingly, but at the same time, there needs to be a balance.”