The current housing affordability crisis in california, coupled with stagnant wages for teachers and school district staff, has contributed to high teacher turnover and widespread teacher shortages. In response, school districts have begun to develop employee housing programs as a strategy to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and staff. This study provides a detailed look at the current school district housing landscape, investigating the policy and legal context as well as key takeaways from existing projects.
We present findings from a study for berkeley unified school district (busd), which shows that current busd employees need housing assistance and would be interested in living in district-owned employee housing. Based on this detailed analysis of busd’s potential employee housing program, along with a comprehensive understanding of this emerging typology, we offer insights for other school districts across california and the country as they explore their own employee housing initiatives.