The Broward County School Board is exploring the possibility of transforming an old school building in Pompano Beach into an affordable housing unit for school district staff.
The abandoned Dave Thomas East Education Center could be getting a second life under a recently-introduced proposal to help give Broward district employees access to affordable housing.
Florida is one of the most cost-burdened areas for housing unaffordability. In Broward County, the average rental cost of a two-bedroom apartment is $2,751, according to a district presentation. That’s more than half the monthly income of an average teacher making $60,000 a year.
A public-private partnership between the district and a developer would transform the once alternative school on Southwest 2nd Street into a mixed-income rental housing complex.
Board Chairwoman Debbi Hixon said the district would not be involved in the construction or operations.
“People will say, and they’re correct, we’re not in the business of building houses and managing housing. And I don’t want us to detract from our job, which is to educate students,” Hixon said. “The only thing we have to do with it is making a contract to lease the land to a developer.”
Some school Board members were enthusiastic about the proposal. Member Allen Zeman expressed support but worried it would send a message of favoritism for some employees, as only a few dozen units would be available. The district employs nearly 27,000 people.
“Is that going to create feelings of winners and losers? How are we going to do that in a way where we’re not doing more harm than good in terms of creating 26,920 losers and 80 winners?”
Broward isn’t the first school district to help staff with affordable living. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is developing on-site residential one-bedroom apartments for teachers.
And last month Florida Memorial University announced it was partnering with a Miami-based developer to build workforce housing for its employees and residents, along with additional student housing. FMU officials cited the high cost of housing in South Florida.
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