The Bolinas Community Land Trust has begun a conversation with the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District about collaborating to create affordable housing for district staff. “The need has grown tenfold,” said Arianne Dar, the land trust’s executive director who presented the idea to trustees last Tuesday. “When I came [to Bolinas] in 2001, all but two teachers lived in Bolinas, and now all but two live outside of Bolinas.” District superintendent John Carroll said he was receptive to the idea and would continue meeting with Ms. Dar, but he pointed out that the district isn’t struggling to fill positions, even though much of its staff commutes from over the hill. “People always talk about how hard it is to find workforce housing, but somehow it happens,” he said. The ideas Ms. Dar floated last week include the district covering the down payment on homes or the two groups purchasing property together to build units. “This is not aimed at providing super affordability, but middle-income homes,” Ms. Dar explained. “You need a full spectrum of people in the community, and not just the rich and poor.” (The Bolinas Community Land Trust is in the midst of creating nine housing units that it will either rent or sell at below-market rates.) Mr. Carroll is also the superintendent of the Lagunitas School District, where the San Geronimo Valley Affordable Housing Association recently appeared before the board to talk about creating affordable housing for staff. “We don’t have the money to build anything, but we do have the ground,” Mr. Carroll said of that campus. The Bolinas land trust is preparing a proposal for the Marin Community Foundation, which could potentially provide a matching grant for such a project. Thomas Peters, president of the community foundation, said his group is currently in an exploratory stage of assessing land, funding, legal and sustainability issues related to teacher housing. “We need to move to an assessment of what is realistic,” Mr. Peters said. “Not so much in terms of need or value—that’s a given. Having a teacher as a part of a youngster’s community is a terrific investment. The next step is what is realistically feasible in terms of funding and sustainability.” The school district’s next budget report is due next month, and Mr. Carroll said the board will soon consider what to do with their reserve fund. “The board is interested in putting aside money for a special account for building projects,” he said. In the meantime, he said he’ll research the legality and possibility of collaborating with the land trust.