周四 | 美国部分学校通过建房来留住教师

Some US Schools Build Housing to KeepTeachers

美国部分学校通过建房来留住教师

Recently, a highschool teacher in California’s San Francisco Bay area moved out of asmall apartmentthat she shared and into her own place.

For 41-year-oldLisa Raskin, a San Francisco native, this was once an impossible dream. In thecity of San Francisco, property is very costly. Rentpaymentsare high. And there is resistanceto new housing.

But now, Raskinpays $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. And her new home is withinwalking distance of her job.

She told theAssociated Press, or AP, “I have a sense of community, which I think is morevaluable than anything else. More districts really need to consider this model.I think it shows educators that they value them.”

Her employer isa 4,000-student school district south of San Francisco. In May,that district made 122 apartments available for its teachers and workers.

Experts arecalling it “workforce housing.” It is rare, but workforce housing is appearingin other parts of the U.S.

In the state ofWest Virginia in a town called Welch, the American Federation of Teachers, AFT,recently helped to open a building with apartments and shops for teachers.Welch officials say they hope the housing and shopping complex will bringeconomic development to the town.

Teachers weretraveling “hours and hours to get to school and back,” said Randi Weingarten.She is the AFT labor union president.

The JeffersonUnion High School District in Daly City, California also supplies workforcehousing for teachers and workers.

“It’s like agreat gift coming from the district,” said math teacher Eleonor Obedoza. Shewas speaking about the new three-bedroom apartment that her family rents.

Eleonor Obedoza, her husband Arman, and son Angelo, 12, sit inside theirnew three-bedroom apartment in Daly City, California, July 8, 2022. (APPhoto/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Jeff Vincent isco-founder and director of the Center for Cities & Schools at the Universityof California, Berkeley. Vincent said workforce housing is rare. But, heexpects more school districts to explore offering affordable housing.He said, when teachers live in the communities where they work, they can get toknow students and families better.

Currently inmany parts of the U.S., there is a lack of teachers and affordable housing. So,some school districts want to find and keep educators by offering themworkforce housing. They could serve as a model for other school districts inthe country.

A view from the third floor of a new housing complex for teachers andeducation staff in Daly City, California, July 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A.Vásquez)

But suchprojects also face problems. Some people living in the districts do not wantaffordable housing for teachers and workers. Vincent said there are those whoquestion “whether schools should be doing this with their land.”

About one fourthof the 500 employees at Jefferson Union High School District were leaving everyyear. The district could not keep teachers from moving to schools that couldpay more.

So in the schoolyear starting in 2017, officials came up with a plan to find and keep teachers.This plan included a $75 million housing complex for teachers and workers. Itwas paid for in part by a $30 million bond measure approved by voters in 2018.That means the local government borrowed the money.

Shown here is the new housing complex for teachers and education staff forJefferson Union High School District in Daly City, July 8, 2022. (APPhoto/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

But the districtalso has a bigger plan. It wants to leaseschool property fora 1,200-unitcomplex that would mix shops and restaurants withhousing. The housing would be sold at full market price. The district says thisplan would also create enough money to increase teacher pay.

However, theSierra Club’s local office and others oppose the plan. The environmentalorganization wants more housing at below-market rents and taller buildings topreserve more open space.

“It’s terriblethe schools have to come up with schemes to build housing topay teachers,” said Gladwyn d’Souza, a member of the Sierra Club. She supportsworkforce housing. But she said there should be more affordable homes foreveryone.

People living atthe school district workforce housing complex can stay up to five years. Afterthat time, they might have saved enough money for a down payment ona house.

But houses arealso becoming more costly to buy.

In 2016, thereal estate company Redfin released a study. It found that an average teacher’ssalary of $62,800 could pay for only 20 percent of homes for sale in major U.S.cities. That percentage was down from 34 percent in 2012.

Californialawmakers in 2016 made it easier for districts to build workforce housing onschool property. Five workforce housing complexes currently exist in LosAngeles, Santa Clara, and San Mateo county school districts.

This summer, SanFrancisco Unified School District plans to start building a 135-unit complexfor educators. It could be ready in 2024 — two years behind later than planned.

Cassondra Curielis president of United Educators of San Francisco, a labor rights group. Shetold the AP, “It was a fight to get it…And it’ll be great for those folks whoget in there.” But she added, “…[I]t’s not enough.”

Melissa Kallstrom enjoys the garden the Jefferson Union High SchoolDistrict plans to destroy for more housing in Daly City, July 8, 2022. (APPhoto/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

MelissaKallstrom is the mother of a student in a San Francisco area school district.She does not object to new homes for educators. But she objects to plans totear up the community garden. She and others say the garden provides rare greenspace.

Lisa Raskin, whoteaches health and social science, understands that change is difficult. Shegrew up in San Francisco’s Mission District. It used to be a working-classneighborhood. Now, it is too costly for her to live there by herself.

During thepandemic, Raskin moved out of her mother’s house to share an apartment with afriend. But the living space was small. Raskin said the chance to move into aplace of her own was like hitting the jackpot, or winning a big prize.

Lisa Raskin, a teacher at Jefferson Union High School District, talks inthe kitchen of her new apartment, July 8, 2022.

“This is mine,”she said.

I’m Anna Matteo.

And I’m JillRobbins.

Janie Harreported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOALearning English.

Words in ThisStory

apartment –n.ausually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as aplace to live 公寓套房

district –n. an areaestablished by a government for official government business 地区，区域；行政区，辖区

rent –n. money thatyou pay in return for being able to use property and especially to live in anapartment or house that belongs to someone else 租金，租用费

affordable –adj. somethingthat can be paid for without too much difficulty 便宜的，付得起的

scheme –n. the waythat something is arranged or organized 计划

lease –v. a legalagreement that lets someone use a car, house, or property for a period of timein return for payment 出租，租用

unit –n. one of anumber of apartments in a building （公寓楼的）单元，单位

down payment –n. a first paymentthat you make when you buy something with an agreement to pay the rest later （分期付款中的）头期款；预付定金