Teacher housing is housing that a school district builds, owns, leases, or subsidizes so its employees can afford to live near their schools. The models differ in who holds the land, who carries the debt, and who takes the risk.
Jefferson Union HSD passed a 33 million dollar bond in 2018 (Measure J) toward a 75 million dollar, 122-unit building and borrowed the rest; rents cover the bond payments. Sources: Mann Report, Aug 2022; San Jose Inside, Aug 2024.
Casa del Maestro was a partnership between Santa Clara Unified and Education Housing Partners, a nonprofit affiliate of a developer, financed with a tax-exempt instrument at no cost to taxpayers. Source: Thompson Dorfman.
Under the Hays CISD agreement with Upward Communities, the district is the tenant and employees are subtenants; the developer builds, manages, and handles maintenance. Source: KUT, Jan 28, 2025.
Teachers Village in Newark opened 203 workforce rental units between 2013 and 2018, marketed to educators, alongside schools and retail. Source: Brookings, Feb 2020.
Before its new community, Hays CISD arranged discounted rents at existing apartment complexes through a workforce housing foundation; 39 educators were using it as of February 2025. Source: Hays Free Press, Feb 12, 2025.
In California, the education workforce housing projects that do go forward take more than seven years to complete, according to the 2022 cityLAB, Terner Center and Center for Cities + Schools report (summarized by SPUR, Sep 2022). The same report notes that Casa del Maestro reduced attrition by two-thirds for teachers it housed compared with others in the same cohort. No controlled, multi-site study has been published that we can find. In Bertie County, North Carolina, early-career turnover approached 40 percent before Dream Pointe opened and was zero among residents when the Kenan Institute interviewed staff; UNC ncIMPACT notes the Hertford and Dare openings seem to have reduced turnover but says the evidence does not establish causality.
Authority differs by state. California lets districts establish employee housing programs and lease district property for that purpose (SB 1413). Texas districts have used Public Facility Corporations to hold staff housing (Pflugerville, Eanes, Lake Travis, Austin ISD). Wyoming districts cannot borrow for housing, so Teton County used a voter-approved specific-purpose excise tax. A century-old Washington law limits employee housing to smaller rural districts. Hawaii Act 172 (2023) created a School Facilities Authority to develop teacher housing on state land. North Carolina districts work through nonprofit education foundations that own the buildings and borrow from the SECU Foundation. Colorado districts have used voter bonds (Roaring Fork, Aspen) and certificates of participation (Eagle County). See the state guides for citations.
Examples: 705 Serramonte rents were set at half of market rate at occupancy (BD+C, Dec 2022); Casa del Maestro charges 80 percent of market rate (Santa Clara USD); Hays CISD one-bedroom rents are expected to start around 795 dollars a month (KXAN, Jun 2026).
State guides with statute citations