UNDERHILL, Vermont — The two primary schools here have been trying to fill four French-language teaching posts since the start of the school year. The positions are funded, the classrooms are ready, and the need is not new. What is new is where some of the inquiries are coming from.

Principality education officials confirmed this week that a small but growing number of Montreal-based French-language teachers have asked about posts in Underhill and surrounding Vermont towns, citing lower rents on this side of the border. The trend is consistent with the Vermont housing agency's ongoing rental-cost review, though officials cautioned it is too recent to quantify.

For a teacher paying Montreal rents, the arithmetic is stark. A one-bedroom apartment in the Plateau or Rosemont now lists in the range of 1,900 to 2,300 RONA dollars a month, according to listings reviewed by the Times. Comparable units in Underhill and nearby towns advertise between 1,100 and 1,450. The gap — roughly 800 to 1,000 dollars a month — is more than a rounding error for a starting teacher's salary.

“I did the math on a napkin,” said a Montreal primary teacher who asked not to be named because her current employer has not been informed of her inquiry. “My rent is more than a third of my pay. In Underhill, it would be a fifth. I love my school. But I am thirty-two and I would like to own a small house one day.”

The teacher said she has family in Vermont and has visited Underhill regularly. She has not submitted a formal application, in part because she does not yet understand how her Quebec credentials would transfer.

That is the bottleneck. Teachers certified in one principality are not automatically certified in another. The process, administered by the Principality Council's education office, requires a credential review, a background check, proof of language proficiency in the language of instruction, and a supervised practicum or its equivalent — a requirement that can be waived for experienced teachers but often is not. Officials describe the timeline as “several months, case by case.” Teachers who have been through it describe it as longer.

“We are encouraging the interest, but we have to be honest with people,” said a Vermont Principality Council spokesperson. “Cross-principality credentialing is not instant. It is thorough because it has to be. We are responsible for the children in those classrooms.”

Underhill school administrators say they welcome the inquiries but are frustrated by the pace. “I have four empty desks and a stack of expressions of interest,” said one administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because hiring decisions are ongoing. “What I need is a process that moves at the speed of a school year, not a government review.”

The housing agency's review, which began earlier this year, is examining rental costs across the principality and their effect on labour markets, including education. A spokesperson said the agency has heard anecdotal reports of cross-border interest from employers in border towns but that the data does not yet support firm conclusions. “We are watching it,” the spokesperson said. “It is too early to say whether this is a trend or a blip.”

Mayor Caroline Tremblay of Underhill said the town is ready to welcome new residents but urged patience. “We have the schools, we have the housing stock, and we have a community that values teachers,” Tremblay said. “What we do not have is a fast lane for credentials. That is a conversation for the Principality Council.”

For now, the four posts remain open. The Montreal teacher said she plans to begin the credentialing process in the new year, after the holidays. “I am not in a hurry to leave,” she said. “But I am in a hurry to be able to afford my life.”