Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on August 5, 2024
HAILEY — Raechel Driscoll worked at the Blaine County School District for five years before a family emergency forced her to leave. When she decided to come back after a year and was offered a job with the district, Driscoll searched for a place to live for nearly a month. Rental prices in the Sun Valley area — best known as a ritzy getaway for the wealthy — were unattainable for Driscoll, an administrative assistant with a teenage daughter. She also makes too much money to qualify for income-restricted housing. Then the school district, in partnership with a local affordable housing developer, presented an opportunity. Blaine County School District and Advocates for Real Community Housing (ARCH) had just finished building five rent-controlled homes — only available to district employees. Driscoll’s application was accepted and she’s moving in this month. “It definitely made the difference between my ability to be in the valley and come back to what I consider home and my daughter’s home,” she said. “Without it, I don’t know that I would have been able to pull it off.”
