San Diego Unified School District⁩'s Bold Plan: $4 Billion Housing Strategy Without Taxpayer Funds

Olivia Wahl

03 April 2026

Part two of my ⁨@schoolutionspodcast⁩ conversation with Superintendent Fabiola Bagula, Ph.D., details the San Diego Unified School District's strategies for affordable housing and community building. Their initiative showcases a regional vision for urban planning that aims to tackle the housing crisis and drive social change. This discussion offers a glimpse into real estate and local news efforts to support educators. 💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & Some Episode Mentions: ➡️David Tate's Conscious Accountability ➡️Ayanna Pressley (quoted by Fabi) "The people closest to the pain should be closest to the power."  ➡️Emancipatory Leadership and Improving Equity in Education ➡️Balboa Elementary: school where Fabi served as principal and implemented the full-day grade-level PLC/RTI model 📑 CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction: Part 2: The Financial Strategy & Bold Regional Vision 1:45 How to reduce a billion-dollar budget deficit without sacrificing people 3:00 Investing before cutting: the asset-based approach to budget decisions 4:15 Removing "my department, my budget" identity from financial decisions 5:30 Three things every district needs to replicate the housing initiative 6:00 A forward-thinking board and strong labor union relationships 6:45 Community buy-in, and the dog park request 8:00 Documenting the process so other districts can replicate it 9:00 What emancipatory leadership means: power to the people closest to the pain 10:45 200 schools, no one-size-fits-all: regional autonomy within system stability 11:10 Influence over power: building voice, agency, and community 12:30 Giving principals protected time together for communities of practice 13:30 The Balboa Elementary model: one full grade level out every day 14:00 The Yale research finding that stopped superintendents cold 15:30 What actually moves student achievement: competitive wages and time 16:15 Affordable housing as peace of mind, the missing layer in teacher time 17:45 BRAND NEW: The Regional Housing Finance Authority 18:15 What if we built affordable housing around under-enrolled schools? 19:30 40% of community college students are housing insecure 20:00 Bond money, votes, and a vision for families setting roots in San Diego 21:00 How to follow the initiative and access resources as they're published 21:45 Next episode teaser: Dr. Benjamin Freud, The Green School Bali 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content. 📧 Connect with me if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in. 🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl Next Week: Dr. Benjamin Freud, Head of Upper School at Green School Bali, challenges everything we think we know about education, from the dangers of "global citizenship" as a mission statement to why rubrics and standardized assessment are fundamentally at odds with how learning actually works.  When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.