At a press conference on Tuesday morning, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced the plan: use 75,000 acres to house teachers, custodians, and other school workers.
Researchers, at UCLA and UC Berkeley, used data analysis to find property that could be developed. According to the research, school districts own 7000 properties that could be turned into more than 2 million housing units.
“Everything that we’re seeing from the data, from the research, and from our experience is pointing to us that this is an opportunity and strategy whose moment has come. And it’s time for us to move forward and we intend to move it forward for those districts that are interested."
Thurmond says the plan would use funding from local bonds and tax credits for housing development. While Thurmond is still trying to get more support for the plan, he says some districts can start building right now, without waiting on further bills.
The Department of Education and its partners are hosting a housing summit on August 14th. They’ll discuss ways to fast track building units for teachers, and tackle California’s housing shortage.