Santa Barbara County Education Office Hosted Panel on Workforce Housing Solutions for School Districts

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – The Santa Barbara County Education Office, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County School Boards Association, hosted an online panel on building workforce housing for school employees on district land. This event was held as part of the broader effort to address California’s housing crisis by expanding the housing supply.

The panel brought together local and statewide experts with 45 school leaders and board members to explore employee housing on district land as a solution to alleviate recruitment and retention challenges.

Held Monday, Sept. 23, the panel featured: Rob Fredericks, Executive Director/CEO, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara; Bob Havlicek, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara; Emmanuel Proussaloglou, CityLab-UCLA; Sara Hinkley, Centers for Cities + Schools, UC Berkeley; and Greg Francis of the California School Boards Association.

Fredericks and Havlicek bring over 60 years of experience developing affordable housing in Santa Barbara County. Proussaloglou, Hinkley, and Francis are leading statewide efforts to provide public school districts with tools and guidance for creating employee housing on district-owned land.

Guest speakers included Dr. Clara Finneran, Superintendent of Lompoc Unified School District, and Dr. Hilda Maldonado, Superintendent of Santa Barbara Unified School District, who shared their experiences managing workforce housing projects in their districts.

Event highlights

• The development process and funding options for workforce housing on school-owned land.
• Examples of how school districts can utilize underused properties to create affordable employee housing.
• A review of recent legislation that supports building housing for school employees on district land.
• Common milestones and potential roadblocks for workforce housing projects in public school districts.

“Affordable workforce housing for school district employees is critical, not only for supporting our educators but for the well-being of our entire community,” said Fredericks and Havlicek in a joint statement following the panel discussion. “When teachers and school staff can live affordably in the communities they serve, it strengthens the social fabric and enhances educational outcomes. By aligning the resources of Housing Authorities with the needs of school districts, we can create sustainable housing solutions together that address both the housing crisis and educational equity.”

Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido added: “With workforce housing gaining so much attention, it’s essential that education leaders are informed and part of the conversation. Our goal with this panel is to introduce school leaders to the information, resources, and expertise to explore their options. Another takeaway is recognizing that as new housing is developed across our county, these projects have a direct impact on our public schools — affecting enrollment, funding, staffing, and facilities. By staying informed and prepared, education leaders can better navigate this landscape and address the broader needs of their employees and school communities.”

Francis, who as a CSBA Senior Project Manager facilitates education workforce housing discussions for school districts across the state, said he was impressed by the level of interest by Santa Barbara County school leaders and board members. “This reflects the huge amount of interest we’re seeing in education workforce housing across the state as leaders see how existing developments have helped districts retain and attract great educators and stabilize their finances.”

As noted by research conducted by UCLA’s cityLAB and UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S), California has approximately 75,000 acres of developable land on school district properties, translating into the potential for 2.3 million housing units across the state.

Access information and resources: The panel recording, slide presentation, and additional resources are available at sbceo.org/edworkforcehousing.

CSBA also offers a suite of materials on Education Workforce Housing, including interactive maps, case studies, and training templates, available at csba.org/workforcehousing.