Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter Administrators:

Invitation to Join Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Key Partners at the California Housing Summit, August 14, at 10:30 a.m.

Our school communities are facing a housing crisis across the State of California. As educators and families have been priced out of once-affordable communities, we have seen our schools struggle to attract and retain school staff, and we have also seen an alarming rise in the number of homeless students and families.

Our housing crisis is undeniable, but it is not unsolvable. On Tuesday, I launched a plan to accelerate the development of 75,000 acres of surplus land owned by California’s local education agencies (LEAs). If only 30 units were developed on each acre of surplus land, our schools could add 2.3 million units to California’s housing supply. That’s incredibly close to the estimated 2.5 million units that California needs to add over the next eight years to rebuild the California Dream for all Californians.

I hope you will join me on Wednesday, August 14, for an important opportunity to develop partnerships, strategies, and potential policy proposals in order to accelerate the development of housing units on surplus school property.

What: California Housing Summit, hosted by State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education

When: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 14

Where: In person at the California Department of Education, 1430 N Street, Sacramento. A livestream is also available. Please note on RSVP if you are unable to attend in person and need access to a Zoom link.

Please RSVP and share policy suggestions at https://bit.ly/HousingSummitAug24 or email initiatives@cde.ca.gov with any questions or further ideas regarding the Superintendent’s housing initiative.

Thank you for everything you do to support our school communities.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction