SF Board of Education Paves the Way for Building More Affordable Educator Housing

Press Release

San Francisco (January 15, 2020) - Understanding that when educators live in the community in which they work it promotes school stability, community involvement and stronger ties between teachers and families in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the SF Board of Education approved a resolution to establish policies and procedures to potentially develop more affordable housing for educators on its properties.

Authored by Commissioner Faauuga Moliga, the resolution calls on the district to seek development proposals for successful affordable educator housing projects that best meet the needs and vision of the district. The resolution sets the goal of building at least 550 units of affordable educator housing by 2030.

“The passing of this educator housing resolution will increase our ability to retain the best educators in California and benefit our students for decades to come,” Commissioner Moliga said. “I’m especially proud of how this resolution became reality. Through the collaboration of District Staff, United Educators, the Council of Community Housing Organizations, Housing Accelerator Fund and Mayor’s Office, we were able to create a policy that can become a model for how we develop Educator Housing moving forward. I'm excited for the future of San Francisco's public schools.” 

Per the resolution, the mission to create educator housing will emphasize retaining consistent and experienced SFUSD educators with strong ties to the community that promises each SFUSD student will benefit from quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century.

The resolution calls for the Superintendent to work with staff and the Educator Housing Working Group to further explore creative financing models in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and utilize benefits provided by voter-approved initiatives, among other things. Proposition E rezones all school district properties for by-right development of educator housing, and Proposition A dedicates $20 million in funding for future affordable educator housing projects.

The district will work with nonprofit affordable housing developers to complement and integrate with San Francisco’s long-standing holistic community development model for affordable housing. 

Since 2014, SFUSD has been working closely with United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to pursue multiple approaches to support educators. In 2018, a developer was selected to build the first educator housing project at Francis Scott Key Annex, and the project plans were submitted to the Planning Department in March 2019 to undergo the review process. That project is projected to create 134 rental units for teachers and paraeducators in SFUSD.

Read the full resolution here.

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