Community college officials eye student housing

While no decision is slated to be made at the meeting, board President Richard Holober said the discussion arose from challenges facing many communities as the cost of living continually rises.

“The cost of higher education and living cost is hard for many to manage today so we are beginning just an information process to determine what the need might actually be,” said Holober.

District spokesman Mitch Bailey echoed that sentiment, while emphasizing the talks are in their formative stages.

“Affordable housing (and housing insecurity) is an issue that many of our students and employees (and hosts of individuals and families across the Bay Area) regularly encounter,” Bailey said in an email.

Holober said he is hopeful officials are able to gather more information about the issue and the need for such services during the discussion.

While the district does not own or operate any housing for its 40,000 students, it does maintain a popular workforce housing program serving teachers and staff on the College of San Mateo and Cañada College campuses, and another project is under development at Skyline College.

The program offering below-market rents to teachers and other staff has been an invaluable resource in attracting and retaining quality education talent, officials have said.

While other districts attempt to lure teachers often unwilling to take long drives onto the Peninsula from more affordable, outlying Bay Area communities, community college officials claim the local workforce housing offers them a competitive hiring advantage.

The popularity of the developments has inspired school districts across the Peninsula to consider similar initiatives, frequently resulting in community college officials being consulted for advice.

“That program has yielded untold benefits and is wildly popular with a waitlist of more than 200 employees to be assigned to a district unit,” according to a district report.

Students though are also grappling with the same affordability challenges, leading to tough choices for many.

“As students face an increasingly impractical housing market and as demand far outpaces the supply of affordable housing in the Bay Area, some students are being forced to choose between pursuing higher education or working full time (often multiple jobs) to pay for housing,” according to the report.

Holober was quick to note any potential pursuit of student housing would be not mimic the staff developments.

“Anything we would have to consider would probably be a very different model than what we have done for staff and faculty,” he said.

While examining student housing, officials will also initiate a conversation about student and staff homelessness during the same meeting.

The district operates SparkPoint Centers at each campus, offering support to those who are battling with financial and housing hurdles through connecting them with available resources.

Trustees though have expressed an interest in beefing up those programs, according to a report prefacing the board’s second study session at the upcoming meeting.

“As the broader San Mateo community continues to struggle with identifying and providing resources for homeless individuals, the board has expressed interest in discussing what opportunities might be made available through the district to students and employees who are homeless,” according to the report.

Holober shared a similar perspective.

“I think there is a genuine interest among one or more of the trustees to look at the problem and look at whether we are in a position to do anything,” he said. “We have not decided we are going to pursue anything.”

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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