We are witnessing colossal waste of taxpayer funds with no accountability.  In Sacramento, our local school district, Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD) designed and has applied to city planning for final approval of a "workforce housing" project.  They are planning to build 10 three story and 4 two story residential structures on a 7 acre plot.  TRUSD has progressed this far with very anemic notification of the impacted property owners and has never held a 2-way conversation with the community.

The plan is to offer approximately 130 units at below market rents to TRUSD teachers and staff.

1.  TRUSD has no experience managing residential property rented at discounted rates.
2. Below market rents will not recover costs for management, maintenance, debt payments, insurance and other associated costs.  There will be losses extending to infinity.
3. Teachers oppose the project because the losses will subtract from funds that would otherwise be available for classroom funding.  Also, they are not interested in their employer being their landlord.
4. Offering discounted rents to some employees and not others would likely cause dissent between the two factions.
5. The vast majority of tenants that receive discounted or subsidized rents become dependent on discounted rents to survive.  Most never graduate to a more stable form of housing.  They are subject to their landlord's decisions and destiny for their lifetime.
6. Because there has not been 2-way dialogue, based on the limited information available indicates the development is not in harmony with the neighborhood.  Structure design and extremely limited on-site parking have not been given due consideration.  According to planning maps, a portion of already small Chuckwagon Park is being relinquished to accommodate one of the 10 three-story buildings. 

It appears this concept is being floated throughout California. School districts should be paying teachers well enough they would not have to rely on discounted rents.

FOOTNOTE:   TRUSD is under continuing investigation regarding losses exceeding $150 Million relating to failure of Highland Charter School (adult education), an entity TRUSD started and managed.  With losses so substantial, activities outside their core mission of educating K-12 students should be restricted. See ABC documentary "Wild West of Education" which is about Highland Charter School's failure and the waste and fraud associated with it.

Help us oppose wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars and imposition on a well-established neighborhood. Please sign our petition.

Thank you,

Robert Wenger