California eyes turning vacant school lots into housing
SAN JOSE, Calif. - California school districts may soon add a fourth "R" to the traditional "three Rs" of reading, writing, and arithmetic: real estate.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond unveiled a plan to use vacant land on school sites to build affordable housing.
"This is an opportunity to create more than 2.3 million new units of housing," Thurmond said at a virtual news conference Tuesday from Sacramento.
Despite the "for sale" signs popping up around the South Bay and beyond, housing availability, especially for educators and other middle-class workers, continues to shrink.
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"I’ve always had a dream of buying a house and living in this community. But definitely, now’s not the time," said Renata Sanchez, a teacher in the San Jose Unified School District.
Sanchez has put her home-buying dreams on hold due to the skyrocketing real estate prices in the South Bay, which have jumped 6% year-over-year, pushing the median home price o
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"It’s tough for teachers in this area," said real estate agent Michelle Elliott.
During an open house for an $800,000 condominium for sale in San Jose's Hensley neighborhood, Elliott said a convergence of factors is at play.
"We have so many great jobs here in the valley and so people need a place to live. And they have great income. But the issue is there’s just not enough housing for people. So that’s why the prices are rising," said Elliott.
Thurmond is eyeing 75,000 acres of land owned by school districts across the state to level out the expense. He suggested using local bonds and $500 million annually in state tax credits to build housing for educators.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to recruit educators. Both teachers and classified staff, who are simply being priced out of housing markets," he said.
The San Jose Unified School District is proposing a property tax bond measure for the fall ballot that, if approved, could generate $1.15 billion, partly for educator housing.
"Our role is to help school districts in pursuing these opportunities," said Thurmond. Added Sanchez, "I think it’s a great idea. Here in San Jose Unified, over the past 10 years, we’ve lost about 10,000 students. But we’re still operating with the same number of school facilities."
She said difficult conversations are needed to balance school and community needs, especially as she confronts the emotional toll of deferred homeownership.
"Emotionally, it makes me feel defeated," she admitted.
Thurmond plans to convene a panel at a housing summit on August 14th to identify policy recommendations to accelerate housing development.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Instagram, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.