As school districts grapple with budget cuts that show no signs of healing, administrators are searching for new ways to use their limited money even more effectively.

Among the latest suggestions: Consider building or maintaining a “teacherage,” a complex where educators could live with the Lawrence school district as their landlord.

“We could literally get into the housing business,” suggests Rich Minder, president of the Lawrence school board and co-founder of Delaware Street Commons, a co-housing neighborhood in east Lawrence.

The idea of a Lawrence teacherage hasn’t exactly gained momentum — at least not yet — but its mere mention shows just how wide a net educators are casting to stretch their dollars in the coming years.

Board members eliminated programs, projects and projected raises to save $4.6 million heading into this academic year, and professionals throughout the district fear another round of fickle financing this coming year.

Compensation often rises to the top of discussion agendas, as the district’s more than 900 licensed teachers are considered key to providing high-quality education to the more than 10,000 students who rely on their expertise.

Minder’s suggestion to provide teachers with below-market-price housing options is simply an extension of such discussions.

“There are things other than salary that are important to teachers,” acknowledged Rick Doll, district superintendent.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the housing concept will gain traction.

“At first blush, it seems like a good idea,” said Deena Burnett, who teaches English at West Junior High School, has been an educator for 30 years and now serves as co-chair for the Lawrence Education Association and as a member of the association’s negotiating team. “But it still begs the question: When will we pay our professionally educated public school teachers a professional wage?”

Minder understands teachers’ frustrations, and acknowledges frustrations of his own. The Kansas Legislature continues to cut the amount of money provided to districts — the $4,492 per pupil that was supposed to be allocated to districts for this year actually was cut to $4,012 — as part of their general funds, which are used to pay teacher salaries and other expenses.

But paying for housing could come from the district’s capital outlay budget. This year, the district’s capital outlay budget includes plans to spend $12.75 million on construction projects, renovating buildings, replacing furniture and the like.

In future years, Minder said, the district could consider using some of such money on housing — whether it’s to buy land, build homes and sell them to new teachers, or to buy an existing apartment complex to be managed for teachers, who would pay below-market rents.

Such property would go off the public tax rolls, Minder said, and could provide a real incentive for teachers looking to locate in Lawrence and stay in Lawrence.

A hundred years ago, he said, it was common for communities to own and maintain “teacherages” for their educators.

“It may be good to go back to some of those old ideals and ideas that we had, of how we can be creative in supporting our teaching staff,” Minder said. “It’s just another way that the community can support our teachers.”