The San Diego Unified School District board on Tuesday will consider three resolutions aimed at providing affordable housing to educators that would allow them to live in the community where they work.
“Neighborhood schools should have neighborhood teachers,” said Cody Petterson, school board president, at a news conference Monday to unveil the proposals. “A society that prices teachers out of the communities in which they teach has lost its way.”
Petterson said that with 969 staff retiring this year, the school district will lose many of the last teachers who could afford to live in the communities that they taught in.
Kyle Weinberg, president and education workforce housing committee member of the San Diego Education Association, said that living in the same area as students helps bridge the gap between teachers and students. It informs how they teach and adapt their teaching to meet the needs of their students.
“And without that community connection, we’re never going to be able to maximize student success in the classroom,” he said.
The policies to be voted on Tuesday include:
- A resolution that includes the goal to have affordable housing for 10% of its workforce over the next decade.
- A resolution of intent to consider proposals for affordable workforce housing and joint occupancy at the district-owned Eugene Brucker Education Center, Revere Center, Fremont/ Ballard Center, Instructional Media Center and Commercial Street. It expects to yield 1,500 or more affordable units.
- A resolution to create a regional housing authority with the San Diego Community College District, called the San Diego Regional Housing Finance Authority.
The San Diego Community College district did not immediately respond for comment Monday.
Richard Barrera, vice president of the San Diego Unified board, said that several years ago the district knew it needed a new administrative facility, which was supported by voters in a bond measure. The consolidation of administrative buildings now frees up those properties to be used for housing.
Barrera said that the planned units included a mix of two- or three-bedroom housing units with one-bedroom units to accommodate employees with children.
“Many of our employees are also parents, you know, of students in our district,” he said.
He said they were focused on their teachers, counselors and nurses, but also para-educators, custodians, bus drivers and food service workers.
Petterson also said the reduced commutes would support their environmental goals.
The school board meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Eugene Brucker Education Center Auditorium, 4100 Normal St.
