The state legislature has rezoned areas where teachers could live.
QUICK FACTS:
- California school districts have been offered a clear path to construct affordable housing for teachers and employees as early as next year.
- The new legislation was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on September 28.
- The new law permits school districts to construct staff housing on any district-owned property without applying for a zoning change.
- Developers are typically required to request such modifications from the city or county in order to erect houses on land with other uses.
- Officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District, who backed the legislation, concurred, stating that they believed the proposal would increase teacher retention.
STATEMENTS FROM OFFICIALS:
- The bill’s author, Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), said of the legislation, “Teachers and staff are leaving because the skyrocketing cost of living and stagnant salaries make it almost impossible to afford living in the communities where they teach.”
- “We are hemorrhaging talented teachers. … [The new law] gives school districts an essential tool in addressing staffing challenges by utilizing properties they already own,” Bloom went on to say.
- “This bill will enhance certainty, increase flexibility, and streamline the process of developing educator workforce housing on school land, which will help districts recruit and retain teachers and classified staff,” district officials said in a statement.
- “With school properties often located in residential zones, there are concerns [this law] will impact the surrounding community and the immediate neighborhood with additional traffic, loss of playfields, and for some residents’ concerns about property values,” the city said in a statement opposing the bill.
BACKGROUND:
- California’s policies have caused problems for many, including actor Mark Wahlberg, who said he left California in favor of Nevada, saying he did so “to give my kids a better life.”
- The actor said that he has had issues balancing his family and work life due to the “Hollywood bubble,” saying that leaving helped him achieve his goals for his family.
- “I want to be able to work from home,” the actor said. “I moved to California many years ago to pursue acting and I’ve only made a couple of movies in the entire time that I was there. So, to be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player, my younger son as a golfer, this made a lot more sense for us.”
