Rodríguez: San Jose needs affordable student housing
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District will add a new trustee after the Nov. 7  special election. Evergreen Valley College campus in San Jose is pictured in this file photo.

It is no secret that California is experiencing a housing crisis. The lack of affordable housing is particularly pronounced in the Bay Area and college students—especially community college students—are among the hardest hit.

According to a 2021 California Assembly report, about 20% of the state’s community college students reported experiencing homelessness in the previous year. The high rents in many California communities make it difficult for students to find adequate, affordable housing while often juggling both work and college.

Locally, community college students face this same struggle. A 2019 survey by The Hope Center at Temple University found that 25% of students at San Jose City College and 15% of Evergreen Valley College students reported being homeless during the previous year. The problem extends beyond those who are homeless, as 68% of San Jose City College students and 60% of Evergreen Valley College students reported being housing insecure. Other students often end up with expensive, crowded or inconveniently located housing in order to have a safe place to sleep.

In response to these and other findings, California lawmakers have created the Higher Education Housing Grant Program, which would provide $2 billion over three years to support the construction of affordable student housing at the state’s public colleges and universities.

While the state’s support for student housing is laudable, it is also contingent upon funding availability. In his 2023-24 budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed delaying some funding for capital projects, including affordable student housing. While the funding was not removed entirely from the budget, the proposal calls for delaying $250 million originally budgeted as part of the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program.

This delay would not eliminate all funding for the program, but would greatly reduce it, making the grant application and award process even more competitive.

Like many of our counterparts across the state, San Jose-Evergreen Community College District recently submitted its own application for grant funds to build affordable student housing right here in San Jose.

Our application, which was approved by the district board of trustees during its Dec. 20 meeting and submitted to the State Chancellor’s Office prior to the Jan. 26 deadline, requests approximately $110 million in state funding through the grant program. That funding, along with $15 million from our own Measure X bond program, would fund the construction of a complex that would provide housing for more than 350 students at Evergreen Valley College with rents as low as $590 per month.

With demand expected to be greater than the 350 available beds, the proposal calls for prioritizing currently and formerly homeless students, as well as those at risk of becoming homeless.

In addition to accomplishing the goal of providing affordable housing for students, research shows that students who live on campus perform better academically than their peers who live off campus. They have higher grades, persist at higher rates and complete their degrees faster than those who do not live on campus, according to a 2021 report from the Association of College and University Housing Officers.

This is due to a number of factors, including closer proximity to campus resources and a greater sense of community and belonging.

Student housing has not traditionally been a feature of California’s community colleges, with only 11 of the state’s 116 community colleges currently offering housing. But as the need for affordable student housing increases and state grant funds become available, more and more districts will be competing for the available state grant funding. It is my hope that the governor and state Legislature work together to ensure that this vital program remains fully funded.

San José Spotlight columnist Raúl Rodríguez is Interim Chancellor of San Jose-Evergreen Community College District, which operates San Jose City College, Evergreen Valley College, the Milpitas College Extension and the Community College Center for Economic Mobility. His columns appear every first Wednesday of the month. He can be reached at [email protected].

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