Affordable housing for teachers, Coastside

Half Moon Bay Review/Kaitlyn Barley, 10/19/16. "District explores affordable teacher housing, cautiously." 

Pacifica rented room

Best choice for Coastside Bay teacher housing

"Sierra Plumb has her dream job teaching fifth-grade science at all of the elementary schools in the Cabrillo Unified School District. ... ....  The only Coastside housing she could afford on a teacher’s salary was renting a room from a family in Pacifica. That is an imperfect solution for a single teacher in her 30s.

.... Plumb is far from alone in her quest to find an affordable living situation on the Coastside. According to the California Department of Education, the average Cabrillo Unified School District teacher’s salary in the 2014-2015 school year was $67,857, compared to a statewide average of $74,090. ...  In contrast, the area median income for San Mateo County in 2015 was $103,000, according to the county’s Department of Housing. A low-income family of four in the county was defined as one making less than $93,850.  

....  ... In August, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill authored by State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) authorizing school districts to build affordable housing specifically for teachers on school property. A few districts had already done so, but some worried about whether they were operating in a legal gray area. ....  The new bill, titled the “Teacher Housing Act of 2016,” explicitly authorizes districts to build housing for their own teachers.

“The school board hasn’t made any decisions on it at this point and it’s not something we would do without lots of input from the staff,” said Cabrillo Superintendent Jane Yuster. 'We’re really early in the process. Does the district have surplus land? Yes, we do. Do we think the high cost of living is problematic? Yes, we do,' Yuster said. 'But how exactly to go about addressing that, we’re not on that road yet.' .... ... 'At least the issue’s being talked about, and they’re trying to find a solution,' she said."  Read article.

Related.  Cabrillo Unified School District, Elementary Schools (K through 5).  Half Moon Bay, Alvin Hatch, El Granada; Montara, Farallone; Woodside, Kings Mountain.  

Note photographs. Key from My Education discount. Teacher scratching head from WRL/Education, Raeford, N.C., 1/17/13, "Hoke building apartment complex to attract, retain teachers." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh