FILE - A new neighborhood is under construction in Bend, Oregon on Oct. 10, 2022.
Joni Land / OPB
The Bend City Council voted Wednesday to rezone a nearly two-acre parcel of land next to a high school. It’s one of two parcels that Bend-La Pine Schools, or BLS, is selling in order to create housing for its workers.
Wednesday’s procedural step is part of the district’s multiyear project to build more than 30 homes near some of its schools in Bend. The goal is to retain district workers in one of the state’s most expensive housing markets. The district owns 72 acres of undeveloped land, excluding lots for potential new schools. Depending on how this project goes, the district could replicate it, piloting a potential model for other Oregon school districts in a similar bind.
In 2022, BLS decided to sell some of its excess land with the purpose of creating homes for district workers to buy, said district spokesperson Scott Maben. Last year the district selected Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity as its preferred buyer.
The affordable homebuilding nonprofit is set to create a total of 32 units near Silver Rail Elementary School and Summit High School, both in Bend. But shovels aren’t hitting the ground right away, and there’s still more administrative processes ahead, according to Bend city planner Nicolas Lennartz.
The projects will likely break ground in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Applications to purchase the homes will be open to all, but school district workers will be given preference.
The district embarked on the project because employees are struggling to find a reasonably priced place to live in town. A recent pair of city reports showed inequality is growing in Bend.
“Housing affordability is absolutely one of the biggest challenges” facing district employees, said Ryan Kelling, executive director of human resources at BLS.
“Coming to Oregon as an educator 12 years ago was a great step for me and my family. There’s no chance we could do it today,” he said.
The average salary for a teacher working in the school district is about $83,000. For newly hired teachers, it’s closer to $66,000 according to Kelling. Unlicensed classified staff, like bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers, earn much less and have a higher turnover rate than teachers.
The median price of a single family home in Bend is $832,000, according to the city.
Habitat for Humanity homes are deed-restricted, meaning they have special rules governing who gets to buy them. The homes are sold for a price that pencils out to a third of a buyer’s household income.
The planned homes near schools will be available to people who make 80% of the area median income and below, while a number of homes will be offered to people making 120% of AMI. Bend’s AMI for a household of four is currently $123,500.
Carly Colgan, executive director for Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity, said the organization receives much more demand than available supply. There are usually 10 applications per home they build and sell, she said. A recent Habitat project received 200 pre-applications for eight homes.
BLS’s approach to create affordable housing isn’t entirely novel. School districts across the country are looking to provide affordable housing for educators in hopes of retaining their workforce, according to reporting by The 74. Late last year, San Francisco Unified School District opened a 135-unit affordable housing complex for teachers. San José Unified School District is currently planning to turn district-owned sites into housing for workers.
The Oregon School Boards Association said it doesn’t track housing projects led by districts in the state, but was aware of some other initiatives aimed at affordability — especially in rural areas. Sisters and Rooted Homes partnered up to sell one affordable home to a district employee this year, and OSBA said a number of other rural school districts own housing that they rent to staff.
“Our school districts are community problem solvers, and they are finding unique ways to help their staff find housing,” OSBA Executive Director Emielle Nischik said. “But if our state wants the best educators to help our students, we must find a way to ensure they have a place to live.”
As to whether BLS will continue to carve off parcels of land and sell it for affordable housing developments, Maben said the district was open to it.
“I don’t think anyone expects home prices in Central Oregon are going to drop significantly enough to make it a more affordable housing market anytime soon,” Maben said, “so yeah, definitely we’re open to it. But first, let’s see how these first two go.”
