Davis Joint Unified School District

Workforce Housing

WHY EXPLORE WORKFORCE HOUSING? 
Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) is acutely aware that the lack of affordable housing is a significant contributor to attracting and retaining employees and in fighting declining enrollment in our schools.

Three main factors drive the decision to address this challenge:

• California Public Education Funding – is unreliable and, especially as District enrollment declines, the funding formula is structured in a way that challenges our ability to pay salaries commensurate with districts in our region who receive much higher levels of funding from the State because of their student demographics.
  
• Staffing/Teacher Shortages – DJUSD is prioritizing the recruitment, onboarding support and sense of belonging among staff in order to improve staff retention and satisfaction. This includes ensuring diverse staff are recruited and retained. These efforts require us to find ways to differentiate ourselves from other school districts and/or other employers.
  
• Rising Housing Costs–The local housing shortage in the City of Davis drives up housing costs, and forces many of our employees into longer commutes. We believe that enabling more employees to live in the community they serve will enable them to better engage in after-school and activities that help build stronger connections that benefit our students, staff and school community.
  

To address these challenges, the Board of Education approved a Key Action as part of the DJUSD 2023-28 Strategic Plan to “Develop strategies to attract and retain District staff, including creating and maintaining a regionally competitive compensation and benefit model, and exploring ways to address housing affordability challenges and employee satisfaction.”

As such, DJUSD is embarking on a concerted effort to explore workforce housing and other creative solutions to meet our needs and to retain, attract and employ exceptional and dedicated talent.

PROJECT UPDATES
The Board of Education convened a Special Meeting on June 10, 2024. The Board received a Strategic Plan Update from Chief Strategy Officer, Maria Clayton. Maria’s presentation included details about what Key Actions the District would be initiating for the 2024-25 school year. The Board gave direction to broaden Key Action C1 to also address housing affordability challenges and employee satisfaction. A copy of the presentation is available on the DJUSD Board Agenda.

What has happened to date:

• DJUSD launched an Employee Workforce Housing Interest Survey in May 2024 to better understand the housing needs of DJUSD employees. The anonymous survey was offered in English and Spanish to all DJUSD Full Time and Part Time employees. Some questions were mandatory and others were optional. More than 40% DJUSD employees (447 respondents) took part in the survey, which was open just under one month.
  
• Results of the Survey were shared with the Board in June 2024. View Survey Results Presentation
  
• The webpage on the District website went live in July 2024.
  

What will be happening:

• The Board will review survey findings, evaluate options and provide direction for next steps.
  
• District staff will continue conversations with other school districts and community partners to create awareness about and understanding around the challenges of affordable housing, especially for employees.