Why teachers in CA can’t afford to live near their schools

By Sam Finn, especially for CalMatters

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When I was a teacher in Oakland, I made a decent salary but lived in an apartment with rats. It was what I could afford.

The difference between what we pay teachers and how they actually live is characteristic of the education system: California spends a lot on it schools, but those dollars don’t buy what they should.

We’re the national leader in average teacher pay ($103,552) and we’re 16th in per-pupil spending ($20,898). Yet most California teachers worry about paying rent or a mortgage. And we still have some of the largest classes in the nation.

The housing market helps explain why. A six-figure salary still isn’t enough to live on for 84% of California teachers near their schoolsaccording to a survey commissioned by the California Teachers Association. It’s also difficult for schools to afford as many teachers as they need because districts effectively pay a housing “tax” to hire their workforce.

A middle class home in California cost about $775,000more than double the typical middle-class home elsewhere in the United States, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office reports. Meanwhile in California rents are the highest in the countryabout 54% above the national average, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says.

This math plays out differently in other countries.

Texas — California’s big, red counterpart — has rents below the national average, pays teachers $40,000 less and spends $8,000 less per student. There are six fewer students per teacher, performs about as well like California on national tests and its fourth graders do better in math.

Massachusetts, the blue state education leader, has rents about 17 percent lower than California’s, pays its teachers $10,000 less and spends $7,000 more per student. It has 10 fewer students per teacher and significantly outperforms California on tests — no doubt a combined function of increased costs and an environment that helps funding go further.

Housing isn’t the only reason school dollars are dispersed differently across states, but it’s a major reason California’s high costs are buying fewer staff than taxpayers would expect.

Some areas are dealing with the problem by building their own housing.

Jefferson Union High, a small Bay Area neighborhood, built a 122-unit complex that it now employs a quarter of the district’s staff and is believed to reduce teacher turnover. Meanwhile, San Francisco Unified spent nearly seven years permit and build 135 units for more than 1200 district candidates.

Projects like these have an impact on teachers who receive a unit, but are unlikely to happen on the scale needed to support most teachers or to shift the cost landscape so that districts can hire more teachers.

Of course, school funding and education policy also matter. Evidence shows that government spending has increased over the past decade increased achievement and this community schools improve student outcomes. California is moving in the right direction to strengthen educational governance, improve reading instruction, and serve English learners well.

Yet school budgets would go further to make this happen if there were enough affordable housing around for staff, students and families. The next governor will need organized pressure and a broad coalition to change housing policy.

The education community should be an active supporter. School boards, unions, PTAs, advocacy groups, and prominent voices must support housing production the way they support any education priority: through bill endorsement, public statements, and coalition advocacy.

Political support on the ground is also needed. When local opposition attacks new apartments, faster building approvals or denser development near transit, education leaders should support the projects with some version of, “These reforms are part of what’s needed to staff schools, stabilize families and maintain public education.”

California cannot fund its way to great schools without building the communities those schools require. This makes housing an education issue.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.