Coming on the heels of the organizing by SDEA union educators and community allies that moved the Superintendent and School Board to rescind the overwhelming majority of remaining layoff notices, we turn our focus once again to our Reopener Contract Bargaining, specifically winning supports for our housing-insecure students and their families.
As educators in SDUSD, we serve the highest need student population in the county. Poverty rates in San Diego are higher than the county average and more than 8,000 SDUSD students are experiencing homelessness. The flooding from the storm in January has exacerbated the housing crisis as SDUSD families have been displaced from their homes and are still living in hotels, impacting our students’ ability to focus on academics when basic needs are not being met.
San Diego is one of the most expensive cities in the country and the average monthly rent for a two bedroom home in San Diego is $3,200 a month. According to the University of Washington’s Self-Sufficiency Standard, a family of four in San Diego County would need to make almost $100,000 to be above the poverty line and afford the average rental.
With most of the students in the district meeting the threshold for free and reduced-price meals, the income of our students’ families is not sufficient to continue living within our district. 57% of those who live within the boundaries of SDUSD are renters and 81% of extremely low-income households in the county are spending more than ½ of their income on rent.
Our union has a responsibility to use our collective power to campaign for solutions to address the needs of our most vulnerable students and their families in addition to our advocacy for strong schools and educator rights. We are joining together with SDUSD families and community organizations to demand and win housing supports through our bargaining and organizing.
Our SDEA Housing Supports proposal would require that the District make at least one safe parking site available for unhoused students and their families, make school space available for organizations providing housing assistance and expand outreach to connect those facing housing insecurity to programs and services. We are close to an agreement with the District and the combined efforts of SDEA union educators and community allies will get us to the finish line.
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