Over the past few years, housing in San Francisco has soared out of the reach of many San Francisco teachers, who have a starting pay of $56,000 and salaries that top out at $78,000 per year. Last year, Redfin noted that there was not one home on the market that the average teacher could afford to buy, and prices have only gone up since then. To address the problem, Mayor Ed Lee has proposed building 100 new apartments for teachers, school district staff members, and non-licensed education workers. If the plans move forward, this would be the first time that San Francisco built housing reserved solely for those who work in the local school system.
Lee's full proposal is worth $80 million, with the largest chunk of funds going toward the building of physical housing. Funds for the Teacher Next Door program, which helps with down payment assistance up to $20,000, would also be doubled, and the city would provide housing counseling services. Both of those elements are contingent on the passage of the housing bond on November's ballot, but Lee has said that the new construction will go ahead no matter what. It's a plan similar to those implemented by other school districts such as Los Angeles, which announced earlier this year that it would build a 66-unit complex for teachers.
The new housing would be built on school district property, likely on the west side of the city. San Francisco would contribute $35 million, but that would only cover half of the cost of 100 units. The other half would need to come from city and state subsidies and tax credits. Due to those financing issues and the community input process on new housing, the units wouldn't actually be built for four to five years.
· San Francisco is Now Completely Unaffordable for Teachers [Curbed SF]
· School District to Build Apartments for Teachers for the First Time [SF Business Times]
· LAUSD is Building Affordable Housing for Its Teachers [Curbed LA]
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