Marin County has the fourth-highest median home price in California. But the average teacher salary in Marin is 63,344 dollars, around two-thirds of the county’s overall average salary. This disparity creates a housing affordability crisis for teachers at Archie Williams; many staff members are forced to live farther from their workplaces, which adversely affects staff mental health and increases turnover.

The Pitch surveyed 77 Archie Williams teachers and staff, and found that half live outside of the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) cities. A 2024 study from Sage Journals found that teachers who commute over 45 minutes have a predicted transfer probability of 21 percent. Since 19 percent of Archie Williams faculty who participated in the survey have a commute of 45-60 minutes, about four percent of staff (five staff members) face an increased likelihood of leaving.

This issue extends beyond Archie Williams. Sarita Lavin is an Ethnic Studies and Black Studies teacher at George Washington High School in San Francisco, which is in the San Francisco Unified High School District (SFUSD). She noticed a high rate of staff turnover due to housing affordability issues.

“The cost to be considered low income in [San Francisco] is 83k per year. Most school workers do not reach this salary until over 10 years of service, meaning they cannot afford to live in [San Francisco] […] Most people in SFUSD last only 5 years. Over 50 percent of student teachers quit before year 3 because they literally can’t afford not to,” Lavin said.

In February, teachers in the SFUSD went on strike for higher salaries. 20,000 staff and students participated in the four-day walkout. All SFUSD schools closed during the strike, including George Washington High School. Lavin participated in the teacher strike because she believes that a salary increase would shorten staff commute times, increase morale, and decrease turnover.

“Most teachers in public education are struggling with bills and making ends meet. We enter into this profession because we deeply love our communities and want to make sure that youth are given the tools they need to thrive, not to make money […] Higher salaries would allow SF teachers to live where they work, leading to more connection to the community, an easier commute, better retention of staff, [and] more stability at schools,” Lavin said.

Teachers play a central role in student learning and development, with their morale serving as a key driver of student success. But for many, having a long commute to work while balancing student demands and family priorities can be emotionally exhausting.

Jose Anchordoqui, who has taught Spanish at Archie Williams for 11 years, commutes an hour each way from Petaluma. Anchordoqui is well known for his passion for teaching at Archie Williams, yet he has struggled to balance work and family responsibilities with his commute.

“There were years where there was a dark cloud […] like, ‘Oh, my goodness, I have to do this again.’ I have three kids. I gotta help them get ready for school. [Commuting] just affects my quality of life… I have to take time out of my personal life to create a lesson plan and to grade. The turnaround is quick. It does cut away on [my personal time],” Anchordoqui said.

While Anchordoqui’s stress stems from long commutes, Lavin faces similar strain from financial burdens and stagnant salaries.

“Having to decide between paying your bills or keeping your job is a monthly stress for people… Every month for the past six years, I have barely been able to survive paycheck to paycheck. That takes a pretty intense toll on your mental health, especially when the work keeps getting harder but the pay stays the same,” Lavin said.

Campus Supervisor Makena Guasco is in her first year at Archie Williams. At her previous job in the East Bay, Guasco commuted around an hour each way, which eventually led her to quit. The strain of that commute on her sleep schedule and overall well-being made commuting time a major factor in deciding where to work next. 

“I was like, I’m not working a 5:30 am shift anymore.’ When you come to work, and you’re not exhausted, it’s so much nicer. My productivity is definitely higher. I’m happier, which is a huge point,” Guasco said.

Now, Guasco lives with her parents just a few minutes away from Archie Williams. Her short distance from Archie Williams makes her an outlier in the Pitch’s survey on staff commuting.

“I am lucky enough not to have a significant commute because I live with my parents in our childhood home… The cost of living in Marin is significantly outside my budget if I were attempting to live alone and with the same amenities I have. It also shows the reality that unless there’s a change, Marin will price out locals quickly,” Guasco said.

Similar to Guasco, Lavin is an outlier among her coworkers who have a relatively short commute. She explains how their long commute affects her coworkers. 

“My commute is luckily only about 15 minutes. I am in the minority on this, though. Many teachers commute from outside [San Francisco] 30 plus minutes every day, which extends our work time and leads to less time with family or doing human things that we deserve to do,” Lavin said.

Additionally, living far from campus prevents school workers from participating in school-run events such as sports events and student concerts. One of The Pitch’s survey responders noticed the impact that commuting has had on staff involvement.

“The commute definitely impacts my participation in after-school activities adversely. In my time working here, I have seen less and less new staff participate in evening activities due to their longer commute times,” an anonymous Archie Williams staff member said.

Because of Guasco’s insignificant commute to Archie Williams, she is an active member of the school community. Guasco is the assistant coach for the Archie Williams girls junior varsity (JV) basketball team and will also be the head coach of the girls JV softball team this spring. 

“You’ll see me participate in most sporting events because my commute is so short. It is extremely helpful that I live so close, because I don’t need to deal with the commute nearly as much as others or traffic,” Guasco said.

While Guasco explains how low teacher salaries reduce staff participation in after-school activities, Lavin adds that they also negatively affect students’ lives, both inside and outside of the classroom.

“I want policymakers to understand that teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions. Not investing in teachers is taking valuable resources away from children. It disgusts me that policymakers continually protect billionaires and higher-ups in the administration of school districts while cutting from children to make themselves rich. They are literally stealing the future from our youth,” Lavin said.

While Lavin views the SFUSD Teacher Strike as a step toward broader change, she believes that sustained action is necessary. 

“A strike is just one small step to a larger revolution of working-class people to take back our power from the ruling class. Strikes can help demonstrate to others that wins are possible, but it isn’t enough to just strike once. We have to continually build our community relationships, empower others to fight back, and show up to support those who need us by prioritizing our actions over our words,” Lavin said.

As teacher salaries trail housing inflation, educators struggle to keep up with rising housing prices. Until teacher salaries catch up to the local housing market, the question for many educators isn’t if they will have to leave, but when.