Plan proposed for afordable educator housing

BY QIANZI LOO

The difficult search for teachers’ affordable housing in the Bay Area has yet to become easier. In response, California school districts are considering subsidized homes with rents below the local market price for educators, helping Lynbrook teachers afford living closer to the schools they work at and reduce commute times.

In March, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate about five acres of land in Cupertino for educator homes, of

Average Cupertino

which 1.5 acres are currently owned by Apple. The county hopes to negotiate a land swap with Apple to obtain space for a subsidized housing program.

Educators in Silicon Valley have long commute times as rising living costs and lower salaries have forced them to live farther from their workplaces. At Lynbrook, some teachers live as far as Santa Cruz or Pacifica. For years, the district has been trying to obtain subsidized housing for teachers, but the lack of unused land in FUHSD is a significant obstacle.

“In this area, the biggest cost is the price of the land, which has thwarted our efforts to build our own staff housing,” FUHSD Associate Superintendent Tom Avvakumovits

Assembly Bill 2295, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sept. 2022, would make it easier for school districts to use real property they own to build affordable housing for educators, but the bill primarily only benefits districts that already have pre-existing unused land.

Rent affordability has also worsened the educator shortage crisis as most salaries are inadequate to support local living, causing teachers to relocate. The median FUHSD teacher earns $79,700, a higher salary compared to other Bay Area cities. Despite this, housing prices near FUHSD schools are still unaffordable for most teachers.

As demand for housing and prices rose during the pandemic, the government increased interest rates to flatten the rise. This makes it more difficult for teachers to compete against higher-income buyers who don’t need loans.

“It's much more expensive to borrow money now than it used to be,” said Lance Shoemaker, Department Chair of Business Administration and Real Estate at West Valley College. “Before, teachers were squeezed by rising prices. Now, they’re being squeezed by the rising interest rates. In general, the people who are planning to buy real estate right now are the ones who don't have to borrow money — they're paying cash.”

For the past six years, FUHSD has partnered with the company Landed, which provides educators with homes 50 to 70% below the market rate and aims to finance part of the down payment. The median down payment was around 13% in 2022, which many educators can’t afford.

However, these partnerships come with limitations, as most government or similar programs that help reduce costs for educators require extra paperwork and time. In the South Bay, real estate agents may choose to go with the quickest and easiest option.

“The problem for educators is that even though they qualify for the loan and would pay the same amount anybody else would, it's going to take longer for them, and most sellers don't want to deal with that,” Shoemaker said.

For teachers, who are more comfortable with where they lived before working at FUHSD or prefer larger homes because of their family size, subsidized housing may not be the best opinion. For others, they may want the district to reallocate the money toward something else. Nonetheless, the subsidized housing program is promising for future teachers and existing staff members.

Upcoming Viking Events

ASB spirit week, April 10-14

This year's final spirit week is seniorthemed, concluding with the Farewell Rally to celebrate the graduating seniors.

Valkyries Spring Show, April 15

The annual Valkyries dance team and guest talents will perform in the gym at 7 p.m.

No school, Spring break, April 17-21

CMEA State Band and Orchestra Festival, April 28

Lynbrook's symphony orchestra will perform pieces in Sonoma by Morton Gould, Edward Edlgar and Aram Khachaturyan.

ArtReach fundraiser open until April 29 $10-15 boutonnieres and corsages are for sale on lhsartreach.github.io.

AP testing, May 1-12

By Chelsea Lee