Board advances workforce-housing effort, approves $5,000 survey contract and subcommittee

The San Mateo-Foster City School District board Feb. 27 approved two key steps in its workforce-housing initiative: a $5,000 contract with Jay Turner Research to develop and administer a staff survey, and formation of a leadership subcommittee to coordinate stakeholder engagement.

Diego Perez, who presented both items, said Jay Turner Research was chosen for its expertise in workforce-housing trends and survey development and will work directly with teachers and staff to design questions that reflect staff priorities. "This survey is one of the initial steps in advancing the board's directive for the vision of the workforce-housing initiative," Perez said, noting that the item was brought to the board as a public vote because of the initiative's visibility.

Trustees praised the district’s transparency on the topic and discussed the expected workload for subcommittee members, including public engagement over a proposed 24-month communications plan with neighborhood meetings, presentations to city councils and outreach to other local stakeholders. The leadership subcommittee will include representatives from key stakeholder groups, and the preference is for two representatives per participating organization to maintain continuity.

The board approved both the contract and the leadership-subcommittee formation by voice vote. Trustees indicated they will select which board members will serve on the subcommittee and asked staff to return with a communications plan at an upcoming meeting.