State education and San Diego Unified outline push for workforce housing on public land

California Department of Education officials and San Diego Unified representatives told the State Board of Equalization on Sept. 16 that school districts statewide control land that could be developed into workforce housing for educators and other public employees, but that a lack of upfront predevelopment funding and gap financing has limited projects to date.

“School districts up and down the state own about 75,000 acres of land that could be developed into housing,” said Richard Barrera, Deputy State Superintendent, California Department of Education, during an informational hearing. He cited research showing that at a moderate density — roughly 30 units per acre — that land could theoretically support roughly 2.3 million housing units.

The board heard that districts have several tools and advantages, including the ability of school and community college districts to pass general obligation bonds at a 55% voter threshold and to use district land through ground leases or public–private partnerships. But officials stressed that moving from interest to completed projects requires relatively small but critical predevelopment investments and targeted gap financing for “missing middle” households.

Why it matters: California school districts and other public agencies face chronic recruiting and retention problems when employees cannot live near their workplaces.…