More than 60% of Ojai Unified School District employees who responded to a December 2023 survey had a colleague who quit their job because they couldn’t afford local housing.
In an effort to offset the area’s high cost of living, the board of education has proposed building housing geared toward teachers and others with similar salaries at the site of the former district office. School officials largely believe the project will further the mission of educating students by recruiting and retaining qualified staff.
The board will discuss their priorities for the project, currently undergoing a feasibility study, at the July 9 meeting.
“It’s existential to the sustainability of our school district that we can recruit and retain staff to help educate our children,” Board President Atticus Reyes said. “No one can do any job effectively if they’re stressed about their cost of living and their housing stability.”
Originally constructed in the 1920s as an elementary school, the building at 414 E. Ojai Ave. was previously slated to be the site of a 200-room hotel and mixed-use development.
The board approved the concept in July 2019, but it was met with overwhelming opposition from residents. Trustees terminated the agreement with the developer three years later due to the company’s lack of sensitivity in handling community feedback.
In October 2023, the board unanimously approved a resolution in support of converting the 8-acre site to workforce housing.
The vote was in response to the newly passed Assembly Bill 2295. The state law automatically rezoned school district property for housing development without the need for city approval as long as the project meets certain standards.
The revenue stream from the project, district officials said, could be used to increase staff wages.
“Everybody wants to see it appropriately designed to match Ojai and there’s some people concerned about the size of the project, … but for the most part, everybody has been in favor of the project,” said Kevin Olson, assistant superintendent of business.
The December 2023 survey completed by half of the school district’s 300 staff members indicated interest in workforce housing.
Roughly 42% of participants said they would be interested in living on the site, while 57% said access to such a project would enable them to work at the district longer. Nearly all said they believe available affordable housing would help recruit employees.
Richard Byrd, president of the Ojai Federation of Teachers, said he attributes the low number of survey responses to the fact that the majority of the district’s employees are older and already own homes. He sees the project as being more desirable among younger employees, both current and future.
“I’m not sure how much vested interest the majority of our teachers have in participating in workforce housing,” he said.
Though the union hasn’t taken an official stance on the project yet, he said he is personally supportive of the effort to compensate for low wages and high cost of living.
“I believe the best way to create really good school districts is to ensure the people who teach in this community live in this community,” he said.
The July 9 meeting will focus on discussion rather than action. The board will provide Brookwood Partners—the real estate development firm the district hired in March to conduct a feasibility study—with direction on the scope and scale of the project as well as possible financing options.
In the past, the board expressed interest in having 40 to 60 units, mostly two bedrooms houses or apartments, and opposed general funds being used for construction.
One funding option is low-income housing tax credits, which would involve specific design requirements.
“We don’t know exactly what all of our hurdles are going to be yet, but funding will be one for sure because everybody has a funding gap to cover,” Olson said. “The cost of construction is so wildly expensive these days.”
“We’ve done a lot of work to build our district back up out of a financial crisis, but that also means our district doesn’t have millions of dollars it can use to build this project,” Reyes said. “We’ve got to be creative about where we can find that funding.”
Alternatives would include grants, and if the housing is also made available to staff from neighboring districts or public employees within district boundaries, partnerships with local government agencies.
Brookwood is expected to complete the feasibility study by November. The district can then establish concept designs, financing options and a project timeline.
There will also be continued opportunities for both staff and residents to provide feedback to the district, including a forum likely scheduled for the fall.
“There will be some really key opportunities for the rest of the community to engage with us in the project as we start to narrow in on what’s feasible on the property,” Olson said.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ojai to weigh housing for teachers, similar workers at old school site
Reporting by Makena Huey, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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