Santa Fe school board establishes educator housing task force to tackle local housing crisis

The Santa Fe Public School Board of Education voted Nov. 13 to establish an educator housing task force charged with producing concrete, timebound recommendations to address an educator housing shortage in Santa Fe County.

Board President Abeyta introduced the resolution, which directs the Community Review Committee (CRC) to oversee a task force that will include CRC members, one representative from NEA Santa Fe and up to two school board members. The task force is charged with building on existing needs assessments and identifying how state legislative funding, capital outlay, bond proceeds and other resources could support educator housing projects; it is expected to present actionable strategy within three to six months.

Vice President Noble urged adoption of the resolution, describing housing as an accelerating crisis and saying the district should focus on strategic, targeted approaches without becoming a housing agency. "We need to remain focused on the salient issue of educator housing and being able to support our workforce," Noble said.

The resolution notes the board's intent to avoid duplicating existing efforts and to invite key community partners as appropriate. Board members discussed potential partners, including local foundations that have previously worked on housing issues.

A motion to adopt the resolution was made and seconded; the motion carried. The transcript records board members verbally voting "aye," but a roll-call tally was not included in the meeting record.

No specific projects, dollar amounts or timelines beyond the 3–6 month recommendation window were adopted at the meeting; the resolution asks staff and the CRC to vet recommendations before presentation to the full board. Next steps include CRC vetting and task‑force formation per the resolution language.