Teacher residency debated

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The most recent lake effect snow storm forced schools throughout Erie County to close, including schools in the Northtowns that weren’t hit much at all.

Now questions around whether or not school districts should have a teacher residency requirement are on the rise.

Hamburg's Superintendent and President of Erie-Niagara School Superintendent Association, Michael Cornell believes with the current labor market, it wouldn't make sense to restrict things even further.

“In a tight labor market, generally speaking, the last thing you want to do is increase the amount of impediments that you create for yourself in terms of attracting talent. We know in many respects, that having a residency requirement has a way of limiting your talent pool," said Cornell in an interview with WBEN. "At a time when we want to attract talent, I don't know too many districts who are anxious to restrict their talent pool by imposing some type of a residency requirement."

Niagara Falls City Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie says his district does have a Teacher Residency Requirement, which has been in place since 1993, and says it has created more positives than negatives.

"We have had good success getting teachers to come and work in Niagara Falls. It's a good place to work. You know what you're getting into when you come here. People have a choice. They know that right up front, it's very clearly outlined and very clearly articulated upon signing your contract. Do we lose teachers occasionally to the residency policy? The answer is yes," stated Laurrie with WBEN. "Interestingly, I would say that the teachers that we lose are those, oftentimes female teachers whose husband has a job further away, and they want to set their home up in a place outside of Niagara Falls."

Laurrie explains that if a district wants to impose a residency requirement for their teachers, they need to weigh all of the pros and cons.

"The snow event that we're talking about initially is but one of a small reason to do it. Ours certainly revolves around our staff, working and living and being part of the community in which they they work, and the benefits that it has in terms of relationship building," stated Laurrie. "It is often a controversial policy. It is often one that the board gets questioned on, but our board and its current position, and those in the past have been steadfast in maintaining it