Summary

The Apokoronas Municipal Council voted unanimously on September 9, 2026 to back a plan by Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis to find affordable housing for newly appointed teachers at local schools. The municipality has already reached out to the non-profit Institute for Regional Press, which can accommodate a number of teachers in suitable conditions, with the municipality covering most of the rent plus utilities. The initiative aims to make Apokoronas a more attractive posting for teachers and, in turn, improve the quality of education for children across the municipality.

Apokoronas takes action on teacher housing crisis with unanimous council backing

The Apokoronas Municipal Council took an unusual step on September 9, 2026: it voted unanimously to address a problem that, strictly speaking, is not the council's responsibility at all. The housing crisis facing newly posted teachers has been left unresolved by the state for years — and Apokoronas has decided not to wait any longer.

The problem facing new teachers

When a teacher is posted to a school in Apokoronas for the first time, they arrive with a monthly salary that rarely exceeds €850. At the same time, available rental properties in the area are scarce and, in many cases, priced beyond what a starting teacher can afford.

Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis put it plainly: "How can a person serve our children when they cannot find a home to live in?"

What the municipality is planning

Apokoronas has already opened talks with the non-profit Institute for Regional Press (Institouto Eparchiakou Typou), which has the capacity to house a meaningful number of teachers in appropriate, dignified conditions. The proposal under consideration includes:

Rent: the Municipality of Apokoronas will cover a significant share of the monthly rent
Utilities: electricity, water, heating and cleaning costs will also be covered by the municipality
Teacher's contribution: will be kept to a minimal amount

The goal is simple: a teacher posted to Apokoronas should be able to live there without financial hardship.

Why the municipality is getting involved

Housing teachers is legally a state responsibility, not a municipal one. But Mayor Koukianakis argues that the quality of education for local children is very much the community's concern — and that more teachers willing to come and stay in Apokoronas means more choice, greater stability, and ultimately a better school experience for the municipality's children.

"We want to say to the teacher: come and serve our children. We want you here, and we will support you here," Koukianakis said.

Next steps

Municipal services have already been instructed to move quickly and in a coordinated way. Apokoronas is working closely with the Decentralised Administration of Crete to review all necessary procedures and reach a positive outcome. The municipality has also committed to exploring every other available option that could contribute to a lasting solution.

Mayor Koukianakis expressed warm thanks to Ioannis Garedakis, the president of the Institute for Regional Press, for his willingness and social awareness in engaging with such an important issue.

A message to the region

The mayor closed with a call that he hopes will be heard beyond Apokoronas: "I want to believe this effort will inspire others — because when it comes to our children, no one is dispensable. And this responsibility is not one we intend to set aside."

Official source

PRESS RELEASE – APOKORONAS OPENS THE WAY FOR THE HOUSING OF TEACHERS – Unanimous decision of the Municipal Council – A concrete solution with the support of the Municipality

September 9, 2026, 7:09 AM

A problem that does not fall within the competence of the Municipality, but is a matter for all of us, the Municipality of Apokoronas has decided to address. The Municipal Council of Apokoronas unanimously approved the proposal of the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, to undertake initiatives aimed at finding a substantive and sustainable solution to the major problem of housing the teachers serving in the schools of the Municipality. The Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, stated: a newly appointed teacher comes to our area with a salary that barely exceeds €850, at a time when available housing is scarce and rents, in many cases, are out of reach.

How can a person serve our children when they cannot find a house to live in? And this is precisely where the essence lies: the housing of teachers does not fall within the competence of the Municipality, but education concerns all of us, our children, and human dignity cannot be contained within the boundaries of competences.

The Municipality of Apokoronas has already entered into communication with the non-profit Institute for Regional Press, which has the capacity to house a sufficient number of teachers in appropriate and dignified conditions. The proposal under consideration provides for particularly affordable accommodation costs, with the Municipality of Apokoronas undertaking to cover a significant portion of the rent, as well as the basic accommodation needs, such as electricity, water, heating and cleaning, so that the amount the teacher themselves will be required to pay will be very minimal.

We are talking about an effort to create in Apokoronas an environment that will say to the teacher: "Come and serve our children. We want you here and we support you here." And the benefit will be twofold. On the one hand, young teachers who face real problems of survival and housing will be supported, and on the other hand, the Municipality will become a more attractive place of service for teachers; more teachers who can come to Apokoronas means more choices, greater stability and, ultimately, an improvement in the quality of education for our children.

At the same time, the Municipality of Apokoronas will examine every other available option and every suitable solution that can contribute to the definitive resolution of the problem. Instructions have already been given to the Municipality's services to move immediately and in a coordinated manner, in full communication and cooperation with the Decentralised Administration of Crete, so that all required procedures are examined and a positive outcome is achieved.

The housing issue is not only an economic one; it is a matter of social justice, dignity and humanity. It is not possible to ask a young person to leave their home, their family and their life to come and serve our children, and when they arrive here, to find themselves facing the dead end of housing. Apokoronas wants to send a different message.

Continuing, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, expressed from the heart his warm thanks to the President of the Institute for Regional Press, Mr. Ioannis Garedakis, for the sensitivity and willingness he demonstrated towards such an important social issue. In a difficult time, when finding housing has become a true ordeal for thousands of workers and especially for young teachers, cooperation and social sensitivity take on special value.

Because local government must not only ask "is it within my competence?", it must also ask something more: "Can I help?" And when the answer is "yes", then it is obliged to do so.

Concluding, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, stated: "For me, this issue touches our children and touches the limits of dignity and humanity. The housing of teachers may not be a competence of the Municipality, but our children are ours, our school is ours, our community is ours.

We cannot know that a young teacher receives a limited salary and at the same time struggles to find a home in the place where they came to serve, and remain mere spectators. We want to do something simple: to open the door for them, to tell them that Apokoronas wants them, respects them and supports them. And I want to believe that this effort will find imitators, because when it comes to our children, no one is surplus.

And this responsibility we will not set aside."