This month, children across the Peninsula are preparing for the start of another school year, as their families reflect on the fond memories of youth — returning in the fall to the same school and teachers who had been in our city for years. The community that, over time, gave us the secure foundation to move forward and build our own careers and lives. We remember our favorite teachers and their lessons forever; the value of having those teachers in our communities cannot be undersold.
But, like the Bob Dylan song says: “The times, they are a-changing.”
Today’s students are facing a different reality, because their teachers and school staff live in a new, different world — one they cannot afford. You don’t see them staying late after school, or run into them at the grocery store, because they have a one to 1 1/2 hour commute. You don’t see the same teachers year after year because they left for a district that paid more, or one closer to where they could afford to live. Worse yet, you don’t see them at all because someone left and the position remained unfilled.
The average starting salary for a teacher in San Mateo County is $58,000 a year, and nonteaching positions such as bus driver, food handling or custodial may be $40,000 per year. Meanwhile, Zillow recently reported the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,600 in San Mateo County, or $31,200 a year. Add in student loan debt and the monthly expenses of food, transportation, etc., and the question looms: How can anyone afford to be a teacher? And, what does that mean for our community?
We all say we would like to have our teachers and school employees be a part of our community, but real solutions are scarce. It’s time to get serious and make the necessary commitments to ensure that our teachers have a place in our neighborhoods, not just this year or the next cycle, but for a generation.
As the cost of living increases, it is becoming more difficult for a school district to pay what is needed to live in most Bay Area towns — even our wealthiest districts have trouble solving this problem. Districts look to property taxes, bond measures and state funding to supplement teacher salaries. At the same time, they are increasingly pursuing another remedy to recruit and retain the best instructors and staff for our children: creating their own housing. And it’s working.
I have watched this process over many years as a school district board trustee, a city councilmember and as a board member of a school housing development.
Last year, Jefferson Union High School District opened its first housing units for district teachers and employees. This year was the first time in recent history where the district had every teacher it needed and was fully staffed. The rents are approximately 55% of market rent.
Several districts in San Mateo County are also moving forward or have staff housing. San Mateo Community College Housing is open, and Jefferson Elementary is now building housing. Pacifica School District recently received city approval on a community-developed plan to use existing district property for teacher and education staff housing that envisions a 100% affordable model in the future. Cabrillo School District is in early stages of starting the process, and Palo Alto is moving forward with several districts partnering together to build housing.
These are all real, successful solutions that demonstrate what communities can achieve when they work together. Their success is founded upon the following shared values:
• An investment in affordable housing for school staff is often a one-time construction expenditure that will be an ongoing recruitment and retention incentive for support staff and teachers.
• Investing in school employee housing creates a supportive environment for new teachers to stay in the profession.
• These housing programs are revolving: Most have a time limit, so staff can save for a down payment and then move on and make space for a new team member.
State officials have directed cities in San Mateo County to get more specific around housing delivery plans, rejecting ADU projections and pushing for more allocations in coastal communities. That means if this issue isn’t already in your backyard, it will be soon. These efforts need ongoing community support and involvement to succeed. Now is our chance to shape our communities on our own terms, so that our kids can grow up with the stability and security that we remember, even as the world around them — and us — continues to change.
Mike O’Neill is a longtime Pacifica resident, community leader and youth advocate.
(3) comments
Mr. O’Neill, it comes down to where the money for this “investment” is coming from. If this money is coming from taxpayers, I fail to see this as an “investment” as there is no path to a positive return on investment. If anything, this sounds like another attempt to cherry pick winners and losers, and quite a discriminatory one, to boot. As for this “time limit” I noticed you say “Most” which implies that some staff will be there forever, perhaps even after their teaching careers are over. If this is an investment, have you been able to obtain outside funding? If not, this may be because they don’t see a path to profitability.
I don't know about you, Terence, but I consider having better-educated kids taught by experienced teachers in smaller classrooms a "positive return on investment." :-)
Now if we could assure children of non-homeowning parents that they won't have to move away because the rents are astronomical and keep increasing. Imagine that. Imagine rent stabilization.
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