In Feb. 2019 Sonoma State University purchased the Marina Crossing Apartments, a 90 unit complex in Petaluma, to give more affordable housing options to faculty and staff but as of this Feb., 51 out of the 90 units are vacant.

The purpose of buying out these apartments was to provide Sonoma State University (SSU) employees with an option of affordable housing that is close to campus and commuter friendly. In an article by American School and University Magazine, SSU President Sakaki suggested that the purchase of this apartment complex would be beneficial to SSU employees. She said, “This will allow us to address Sonoma State’s workforce housing needs in an immediate and significant way.”

Hillary Homzie, a communications professor, who lives outside of SoCo shares her thoughts on the upside to having employee housing that is intertwined with student housing, and how it is overall beneficial to the campus community and also eco friendly. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t live in Sonoma County so these questions don’t quite apply to me. My alma mater is the University of Virginia which was founded by Thomas Jefferson and his vision for the school was an academical village where students and faculty all lived together. He constructed a lawn with dorm rooms along the side dotted with pavilions which housed faculty. Personally, I love the idea of an academically village as it organically creates community and would be a much greener way to live (literally because it’s constructed on a lawn and because there would be no commute for faculty)”, she said. 

Teachers and soon to be teachers at Sonoma State University contemplate the difficulties that come with having low wages and high housing costs. Kayla Sierras, a Hutchins major at SSU, feels it is most logical to remain in SoCo for educational purposes.

 “I would like to remain living in Sonoma county through my student teaching program since placement schools are in the area, but I will have to work 30 hours or more and live with roommates in order to afford housing in the area”, she said.

Another student, Tais Hernandez, an English major at SSU, is pretty certain that her housing decision will be the most affordable a college student can find.

 “ I don’t really want to remain in the area because it is expensive to live here and coming out of college with a BA (Bachelor’s of Arts Degree) they don’t tend to pay teachers much. It’s unstable to live here and that is why a lot of students go back to live with their parents because of how expensive it is to live out here ro in most places for that matter”, she said.

The most affordable option, a studio apartment at the Marina Crossing apartments has a monthly rate ranging from $1,450 – $1,575. The average cost for a studio apartment in Sonoma County, more specifically the Rohnert Park area, ranges from $1,625-$1,725. These numbers range very similarly and may explain why many apartments remain available.

The Marina Crossing Apartments is a 10 mi. drive from SSU and has several perks, fitness room, outdoor lounge area and allows for tenants to have pets. It is family friendly with a variety of apartment options that range from studios to four bedroom apartments.

While the goal of SSU buying out these apartments was to address the issues surrounding employees’ housing needs, unaffordable housing remains a reality for all individuals in the SSU area. 

Not only is this an issue at SSU but also at other CSU’s. Similarly to SSU, San Jose State University has on campus housing for faculty which is amongst student housing. The monthly housing rate for faculty at SJSU to live on campus in a furnished one bedroom is $2,592. The rates at SJSU are even higher and suggests that unaffordable housing for teachers is an issue across all of California and not just in Sonoma State University. In an article by EdSource it is explained how it has become more common, specifically in the bay area, for schools to offer housing for employees. 

 “The analysis found the Bay Area has the largest disparity between teacher salaries and rental housing costs in the state. In 47 school districts in the region, the highest-paid teachers only earn enough to rent an affordable one-bedroom apartment, using the federal definition of affordable housing as 30 percent or less of household income” they said. 

Despite these efforts to make affordable housing, this brings up a bigger issue that it is likely impossible to make housing affordable, due to how expensive it is to live across all of California. 

“An EdSource analysis of Census Bureau data found that about 40,000 teachers left the state between 2013 and 2017, although it is not clear if they left because of housing costs.”

The overall cost of living in California is exceedingly high and continues to rise. While this explains the high housing rates at the Marina Crossing Apartments, more needs to be done in order to make this designated employee housing affordable and accommodating to teachers’ salary.