ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools is launching a new initiative that, if approved, would give eligible school district employees priority access to affordable housing units in downtown Orlando. 

In an effort to “attract and maintain essential school personnel such as teachers, bus drivers and other support staff” at a time when it is critical, OCPS is partnering with the One Stop Housing organization to provide up to 20 affordable housing units in two downtown locations.

According to the Priority Access to Housing Agreement document, “the rising cost of living in Central Florida has outpaced wages, contributing to the shortage of these critical employees essential to the operation of our public schools.”

One Orange County middle school teacher said while programs like these are a great first step in the right direction, he believes the priority is raising teachers' salaries.

Julian Vasquez, who has taught civics to Central Florida middle-schoolers for the past 11 years, said he would not trade his job for anything else in the world.

“Every day, we take our work home with us. Those students become our kids,” said the Freedom Middle School teacher.

That is why public school teachers like himself deserve better, especially since good teachers can really set up students for success, he said.

“Teachers that do care, we’re being so overloaded. We’re expected to work miracles at every single instance. We don’t get support at the vast majority of schools,” Vasquez said.

Despite his experience and a master’s degree in teacher leadership and social studies, Vasquez earns $60,500 annually.

“And that was after a 9% raise last year,” the seventh-grade civics teacher said.

Not to mention, Vasquez considers himself lucky to not be a single parent because he said, otherwise, he would not be able to afford his home or childcare for his 16-month-old daughter with his current salary.

Under the Priority Access to Housing Agreement, the owners of the Colonial Gardens and Palm Gardens Orlando Apartments will set aside 10 units at each location for those employees that meet all eligibility requirements.

According to the agreement, there is no direct guarantee that OCPS employees “will be awarded a rental unit.”

“Owners will select the most qualified applicants from the priority access pool based on each applicant’s suitability for the housing and the number of units available.”

At Palm Garden, studio apartments can be rented out for $900 a month, including utilities, and a one-bedroom apartment costs $1,195. 

According to One Stop Housing Property Manager Benjamin Sironel, these affordable housing units serve as “workforce housing” to “help those who make between 60 to 80% of the AMI (area middle income).”

Although Vasquez recognizes OCPS’s efforts with this new affordable housing initiative, he said it should not have had to get to this point, and low salaries are driving some quality teachers out of the public school system for good.

“We live paycheck to paycheck. It’s not like we’re able to invest heavily into retirement or have a huge savings account, with the amount of money you spend on groceries, childcare is insane in Orlando,” Vazquez said.

The Priority Access to Housing Agreement will be voted on at the upcoming Orange County School board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The agreement will have no financial impact on the district, if approved, officials said.