SARASOTA — Sarasota County School Board members have frequently mentioned how the housing market is making it increasingly tough for new teachers and staff members to find places to live.
At a workshop Tuesday morning, they explored possibilities for easing those housing problems.
One of those possibilities involves a 40-acre property the district owns on Indian Hills Boulevard off Center Road near Venice. The board was presented as a possible site for affordable single- and multi-family housing options with close proximities to Garden Elementary and Venice Middle School.
Board members seemed impressed with a plan by One Stop Housing to remedy the rising issue of affordable housing in Sarasota County. One Stop Housing is a private company that specializes in workforce rentals.
The business’s proposal focused on providing housing products for rent to school district employees struggling to find an affordable home.
OSH’s Mark Vengroff said “100% of everything we do is at 80% AMI (area median income) or less.”
Vengroff said the property would prioritize housing district employees by surveying teachers and staff to understand and meet the needs of the district, including a possible on-site day care and telehealth center.
The average rent in the county is $1,824 per month, 22% higher than the national average as of this month.
Chair Karen Rose noted retention rates for Sarasota County teachers has been a struggle in the past due to the rising cost of living.
“As a principal for 14 years, recruiting teachers was relatively feasible,” she said. “I could not keep at least 50% of them for more than two years unless they found a partner or roommate, so it’s definitely a challenge from a data standpoint.”
Vengroff added the proposal would require no additional expenses from SCS besides donation of the land to the development company, which gained the support of several board members, including Tom Edwards.
Vengroff noted his proposal for SCS included the preservation of wetlands located on half of the Indian Hills property by maximizing units on one parcel to avoid impact on environment.
Neal Communities, known as a local home builder, gave a workforce housing proposal for the Indian Hills property, with a focus on young consumers who “want to partake in the dream of homeownership.”
The plan would include the sale of the property from Neal Communities.
Pat Neal shared SCS would need to be responsible for educating the district’s employees through down payment assistance programs, including down payment grants as “the down payment is the primary struggle for the buyer.”
Board members shared their support for a rent-to-own path opportunity for district employees, with Bridget Ziegler raising the possibility of a childcare center similar to OSH’s proposal.
“I think it plays a huge role when it comes to a benefit, because I can tell you there is a real shortage of childcare when it comes to this community,” Ziegler said.
No final decisions were made, as the board plans to continue exploring all properties and proposals in the coming months.
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