SEIZED HOUSES COULD BE USED TO RECRUIT TEACHERS

PORT ST. LUCIE - City Councilman Christopher Cooper and St. Lucie
County School Board member Judi Miller are hoping drug dealers'
losses will turn to school teachers' riches if city officials succeed
in seizing up to three dozen homes used as marijuana farms.

The city is in the early stages of trying to seize the first six
homes, and Miller said she was intrigued when a resident called,
asking whether the homes could be used to recruit some of the 400 new
teachers the district will need to accommodate rising enrollment this
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Cooper passed the question on to City Attorney Roger Orr. Orr's
assistant, Gabrielle Taylor, said she's not sure what the city's
long- term plans are for the homes but said any uses would have to
jibe with state law, which allows a seizing agency to retain the
illicitly used property or to trade or transfer it to any public or
nonprofit organization.

Cooper and Miller figure that includes recruiting teachers, who
increasingly are finding it unaffordable to buy or rent homes in
burgeoning St. Lucie County, which enjoyed a 37.8 percent rise in
property value overall last year.

In the cities of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, the value hike was
even greater.

"I've talked it over with our employees, and they agree it sounds
like a wonderful idea," Miller said. "This could be a win-win for the
city and new teachers, and education in general."

Under state law, the city would have to pay off liens or mortgages on
the property before using it or selling to others.

Cooper said teachers could assume existing mortgages or take out new
ones to satisfy the liens, allowing them to pay below-market price
for the homes.

Because many of the homes have been altered without building permits
to manipulate electrical wiring and interior walls, the teachers also
might have to assume the cost of making repairs, Cooper said.

A similar proposal to provide workforce housing for teachers on West
Virginia Drive failed because that would have required the city or
buyers to move the houses away from the road, which is being widened,
officials said.

The newer proposal sounds more inviting, Miller agreed.

"Anything like this we can do to recruit teachers, I think we should
try," Miller said. "Because of our growth, we need teachers and they
need housing."