By Julia Owens and Valentina Gudino
Marin County has numerous factors that appeal to prospective residents. Its location is ideal, it is regarded for its scenery and climate, and is safe. However, it comes at a price. Marin is the sixth most expensive county in the United States to live in, according to U.S. News and World Report. It is challenging for Novato Unified School District (NUSD) to attract teachers when salaries are not proportional to Marin’s cost of living.
States make budgets to allot funds for specific areas, such as education and housing. In the 2024-25 budget period, the required budget submitted by a state’s governor to the Legislature, Governor Gavin Newsom submitted a predicted deficit of $37.9 billion, countered by a more severe estimate of $73 billion from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) itself. This decline is due to many factors, such as a “severe revenue decline,” raised interest rates, and the tax deadline extension. What this decline means for public schools is budget cuts, a concept not unfamiliar to NUSD.
Report 4839 by the LAO states that “to align spending with these lower estimates, the Governor proposes $13.7 billion in [funding] reductions and other solutions affecting schools.” To combat the funding and staffing issues, NUSD is looking at education workforce housing to make Novato schools more attractive to potential employees. An Education Workforce Housing Committee has been formed by NUSD, including a diverse panel to gauge the community’s needs.
First, the Housing Committee must have a set plan in place, get permits from the City of Novato, which can take one to three years, then present the project’s feasibility for the Board of Trustees to vote on. Once the construction process begins, it is expected to take around two to three years to be completed. In total, the board is expecting the new housing to be completed between three and six years from now.
NUSD is working closely with Brookwood Partners, a real estate agency focused on providing workforce housing in TK-12 districts, to identify a potential property. One district that has worked with Brookwood Partners is Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) in Daly City in 2022.
The committee toured the JUHSD housing project in March and discovered that all job openings were filled and the average rent was 42 percent lower than the market rate. Based on a survey sent to Daly City teachers, 80 units were the primary interest. Due to extra property, 122 units were built at full capacity.
NUSD hopes that the construction will have similar success to JUHSD by encouraging more staff to live in the Workforce Housing Condominiums in order to ensure a spot for all the NUSD workforce interested.
Director of Staff Housing Derek Knell is confident that such housing will allow NUSD to hire positive influences amongst the Novato schools while lowering the turnover rate.
“Education workforce housing enables NUSD to recruit and retain high-caliber professionals in both teaching and support roles. This fosters a culture that values and supports its employees, which is essential for maintaining a motivated and dedicated workforce,” Knell said.
San Marin Spanish teacher Marisa Remak believes that ensuring housing for staff who may not be able to sustain the cost of living in Novato will allow teachers to stay in the district, and build a stronger community.
“Affordable housing will enable our community to attract and retain teachers who might not otherwise be able to afford to live here… The whole community benefits when residents feel a connection and participate in the community,” Remak said.
Affordable housing could allow NUSD to attract more faculty and would be a shorter commute for some teachers who currently live further away from San Marin.
NUSD hopes to overcome California’s funding crisis with an outlook that aims to gather employees who will stay within the district for years to come.
