The Santa Barbara Unified School District is looking to build homes for teachers and staff at two separates sites on the South Coast.

The district plans to partner with developer Red Tail Acquisition to build 106 units at what is known as the Tatum property near San Marcos Growers. A separate project calls for building 30 units at the former Parma school site near Trader Joe’s on the Eastside.

“Reducing the cost of housing is one of the most effective ways to recruit and retain employees,” said Gabe Escobedo, president of the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees. “These units can make a real, tangible difference for employees and families.”

The district is expected to close escrow on the Tatum property within the next two weeks. It sold the property to Red Tail for $17 million. The developer and the school district reached an agreement to build 106 affordable units, including one, two and three bedrooms.

The project will be run by the Santa Barbara County Housing Authority. Some of the units would be set aside for U.S. veterans, and the rest would be designated for non-management employees of the district.

The Tatum property on is about 4 acres in the Eastern Goleta Valley. At one point, the district had considered working with Red Tail to develop more than 300 senior apartments, but the proposal has since been scaled back.

Money from the sale of the property would help fund development for the Armory site that the school district also owns on East Canon Perdido Street. The district has about $25 million to develop the site, which could be used for career tech programs, such as machinery, carpentry, plumbing, and possibly employee housing.

It plans to issue a request for proposals for a feasibility study to determine the best uses for the site.

In addition, the district is also planning to build 30 units at 915 E. Montecito St. for teachers.

About 28.5% of district employees are considered very low income and another 28.5% are considered low income, according to a survey of district employees.

Overall, about 63% of the employee households are in very low-, low- or moderate-income households, which means they make less than 120% of the area median income, which is about $101,000.

“Think about people who drive large distances,” Escobedo said. “All of that time in the car is less time with their families. The more time teachers can spend with students, the greater the student outcomes.”

Escobedo said there already have been about 400 responses from teachers who would like to live at the Parma site, which also would be run by the housing authority.

“High housing costs is the No. 1 reason teachers don’t stay at the district,” he said. “The amount of hardship they face because of the high cost of living is huge.”