01/12/2026
There’s a bill currently being discussed in Arizona, Senate Bill 1080, that would let school districts partner with private developers to convert unused school buildings into affordable housing for teachers and essential workers. Legislators say it’s a win-win: districts get revenue and teachers get housing. 
Here’s the truth you need to understand:
👉 Arizona already has tools for repurposing unused school space, and districts can lease or sell land under existing law. 
👉 The real driver of unused buildings isn’t a lack of ideas, it’s declining enrollments caused by school choice policies and open enrollment.
👉 Turning school property into housing, even for teachers, easily becomes a backdoor privatization mechanism, transferring public assets into private hands and shrinking public education capacity permanently.
Sending housing to teachers doesn’t fix the root problem (like low pay or declining enrollment), and it does risk setting a precedent where public land becomes public-private profit land. That’s exactly the dynamic we’ve been warning about.
If you oppose this bill as written, contact Senator John Kavanagh and tell him you do not support legislation that could undermine neighborhood schools and funnel public assets into private development.
🔁 Follow for more, we’re going to keep explaining what’s at stake before it’s too late
