The Lompoc Unified School District has officially issued a request for proposals for a workforce housing project aimed at retaining and recruiting teachers and staff.

The request, issued Friday, seeks a developer to design, permit, finance, build and manage a project that envisions 150 to 200 residential units at 4010 Jupiter Ave. in Vandenberg Village, the current site of Maple High School.

The district said it will not use general fund or Measure M funds, with the developer covering all financing costs. At least 100 units would be reserved for employees at below market rates.

Housing costs are a significant strain on district employees, with certificated staff such as teachers spending about 34% of their income on housing and classified staff spending about 51%, according to the district.

A recent staff survey found that 81% of employees believe housing costs affect the district’s ability to recruit and retain workers, and additional figures show that about 20% of employees commute from outside the area.

The district said developments of that scale typically take four to five years, and the earliest units could be available in the 2027-28 school year.

The proposed housing site is the current Maple High School campus, which means the school would need to be relocated. The district said it is still reviewing options for a new location, including possible classroom space at Allan Hancock College’s Lompoc Valley Center. The selected developer would be required to include abatement and demolition of the Maple campus in its construction schedule, according to the district.

Developer proposals are due Jan. 30 at the district office at 1301 North A St. in Lompoc by 5p.m., with the Board of Trustees scheduled to review submissions on Feb. 17.

More information is available at lusd.org/employee-housing.