For the past 16 years, Richard Barrera has served on San Diego Unified’s Board of Education. Over his long tenure, he’s become an outsized influence on the board, but now, he’s got a new appointment. State Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond has brought Barrera on as a senior policy advisor.
Barrera said he will work on special projects for the California Department of Education that “go beyond the traditional scope of the [California Department of Education].” He won’t be stepping away from his role as a board member at San Diego Unified.
On His to-Do List
One of the big projects Barrera will be focused on is helping to accelerate the surging interest in developing housing on district-owned land.
“That’s a big opportunity around the state and we want to encourage more and more districts to take advantage of that opportunity,” Barrera said.
San Diego Unified has multiple projects in the pipeline and even included language prioritizing the construction of workforce housing in the bond measure voters approved in 2022. But there’s opportunities for housing across the state, Barrera said, referencing a study that found California school districts own about 75,000 acres of potentially developable land that, should districts take the leap, could result in the creation of millions of units.
One barrier is that current state law only allows school districts to spend bond money on workforce housing rather than housing for families. Potentially helping to craft and push legislation that changes that is another task on Barrera’s new plate.
“If you take the things that school districts are most wanting to do and … the most ambitious ideas that school districts have and you sort of coalesce districts and stakeholders throughout the state, to really start to advance ideas, accelerate ideas. I think It’s an exciting opportunity,” Barrera said.
“And that’s what [Thurmond] wants to do. He wants to really go after some big ideas.”
How much is he going to make from the state AND the school board combined. It’ll be significant. And we need to term-limit board members.
Excellent question, especially since there is a financial deficit!!!!
Family housing? Is that listed as part of any school district’s mission statement? Barrera should stay in San Diego to devote more effort on improving the academic outcomes for students, which haven’t meaningfully improved in the 16 years since he was first elected to the San Diego Unified board.
My question is WHY he insists on sitting on the school board indefinitely?