\u201cWe want to be thoughtful and strategic about how we invest those funds,\u201d Seth Reddy, chief business officer of SJUSD, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
Reddy said the district took the next step in the approval process for workforce housing by filing an application with San Jose to initiate a preliminary review for construction at the Hillsdale site. The review is estimated to take 26 to 41 months before construction can begin. The district filed under Senate Bill 330<\/a>, which revises land use and zoning laws to streamline new housing in urban areas.<\/p>\n He said attracting and retaining<\/a> high-performing teachers and staff<\/a> is a priority for SJUSD.<\/p>\n \u201cWorkforce housing, which can significantly reduce the cost of living for our teachers and staff, is a lasting resource for our community,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n Educator Yolanda Guerra, a member of a teachers union, said she supported the district\u2019s original intention of using union contractors to build workforce housing. She said the district\u2019s consideration in buying condos at Silvery Towers is \u201cinherently wrong.\u201d That project faced accusations that some workers on the project<\/a> were trafficked and forced to work without pay. One of the development\u2019s employees died after a fall at the project in 2018, prompting a state probe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disrespectful. It\u2019s a slap in the face, and it just goes against everything that a union stands for,\u201d Guerra told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWhat teachers want is what we asked for years before \u2026 union constructed housing and housing for families.\u201d<\/p>\n Guerra said it would have been more helpful for the district to offer teachers housing subsidies for a home of their choice rather than having to live in one owned by their employer in a specific location.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds lovely, a school district wanting to support teacher housing, but there\u2019s no understanding of what that looks like,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the end, will it happen? I would be very surprised. They\u2019re not going to be able to build what they want to on the Hillsdale lot. It\u2019s too ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n A survey of more than 1,200 SJUSD employees showed strong demand for housing at the scale being considered, Reddy said, adding that purchasing an already-built residential property has the potential to significantly lower housing costs and save more Measure R dollars for school upgrades.<\/p>\n San Jose\u2019s largest public school district plans to modernize all of its 49 campuses and facilities over the next few decades with an estimated cost of $4 billion. About $1 billion of upgrades will come from Measure R funds.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/LNM-20250616-SJSPOTLIGHTLOGO-01.jpg\")
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