Some Local Residents Say They Support Housing for PUSD Staff, Students

Local residents support a project that would provide affordable housing for the Pasadena Unified School District’s faculty, staff, and students.

During a joint meeting of the City Council and the Pasadena Unified School District on Monday, Pasadena Unified School District staff held a presentation on potential affordable housing for faculty and staff, including a discussion of AB 2295 and SB 35.

Earlier this month, the Pasadena Unified School Board voted 6-1 to approve an affordable housing project that would create housing for District staff, including teachers, at the site formerly occupied by Roosevelt Elementary School.

Rent in the area is well over $3,000. Some staff members come to work from as far away as Bakersfield.

In correspondence, Gloria Newton said although it was sad to see schools closed, she was thrilled that the Pasadena Unified School District Board has decided to move forward on proposals to build affordable housing for Pasadena Unified School District staff on one of these closed school sites.

“Not only would Pasadena Unified School District staff have the option to live in the communities which they serve, but this type of land use would provide a desperately needed income stream for the District. This would be immeasurably more beneficial than losing more money trying to maintain aging buildings that are not going to be repopulated by students any time soon.”

Newton said she was also encouraged that the Pasadena Unified School District Board is investigating using a second closed school site for housing for Pasadena Unified School District families.

“We are experiencing a housing crisis that is displacing many Pasadena Unified School District employees and working-class families who send their children to our public schools, resulting in enrollment declines and disinvestment from those schools. The result of the enrollment decline is that the District has closed 11 campuses since 2006,” said Sofia Santos. “Since the District owns the land on which the housing would be built, the District can both provide affordable housing and make a profit at the same time (a feasibility study in June showed that the District could net $118 million). This solution is a win-win for everyone.”

The results of a workforce housing survey conducted last year revealed a significant need for affordable housing options for Pasadena Unified School District employees in Pasadena.

Findings also suggested that addressing the need could help attract and retain high-quality educators and staff.

The survey reported that most Pasadena Unified School District employees (70%) spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which is considered a high housing cost burden. The survey also reported the average monthly rent/mortgage paid by Pasadena Unified School District employees is $2,200.

More than half of the respondents (56%) reported that they would be interested in living in District-owned rental housing units offered at below-market rent reserved for Pasadena Unified School District employees.

The report says that “long commute times” were identified as a significant challenge for many Pasadena Unified School District employees, with 40% reporting that their commute time was more than 30 minutes each way.

The report recommended exploring partnerships with local developers to build affordable housing units and providing financial assistance to employees to help them with down payments or rental costs.

The early stages of the project could cost more than half a million dollars.

If the District could fully fund the project without outside funds, it would allow the District autonomy on the project.

The District is hoping to fully fund the project with some money from Measure O.

In March, the School Board approved drafting measures that would place a bond and parcel tax on the November ballot.

The bond would generate $900 million by increasing taxes by a rate of $60 per $100,000.