Plans for an on-campus housing project at El Camino College have been put on hold due to a lack of available funds in the college’s tentative budget for 2023-2024.
Ann Volz, president of the Volz Company, a real estate management firm based in Irvine, presented a housing feasibility plan during the Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 21, 2022.
Vice President of Administrative Services Robert Suppelsa said due to a change of budget, on-campus housing is currently not possible.
“While certainly a topic of interest for the Board and ECC in general, changes in financial priorities at the state level since then indicate that funding for this topic is not currently feasible,” Suppelsa said.
In 2021, the state established the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program, which granted money to California Colleges to either add student housing or improve any housing programs already in progress.
According to the 2023-2024 student housing budget, $542 million was spread across and granted to 10 California Community Colleges for these schools to start construction on student housing during the 2022-23 school year.
El Camino was not one of the 10 schools that received the money.
Even so, according to the same budget, $250 million of the total funds that would have gone to the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program have now been delayed until next year.
These plans may never be executed due to the state delaying some grants.
A Student-Centered Funding Formula has now been implemented by the state, which now has a major impact on how community colleges like El Camino will be funded.
According to the Student-Centered Funding Formula, the more students that are enrolled the more funding a college will receive from the state.
El Camino agreed to a $110,000 contract with the Volz Company for the company’s services in creating a feasibility study for the buildings.
The plans presented by the Volz company featured on-campus student housing built to fit up to 1,000 students in one building.
The plans also included possible locations where the proposed buildings would be placed on campus. These locations included the North Gym, parking Lots J, K and L.
The Volz company is currently working on bringing student housing to Napa Valley College and Santa Rosa Junior College.
On-campus housing was also proposed at a Board of Trustees meeting in 2014, but those plans did not pan out.
El Camino has never previously offered on-campus housing, but did provide off-campus dorm-like apartments for students to rent. Those apartments have since been sold.
Orange Coast College, located in Costa Mesa, is the only community college in Southern California to offer on-campus housing.
Orange Coast College Director of Housing and Residential Education Jamie Kammerman said students who live on-campus have seen benefits in their academic performances and social life.
“Students who live in on-campus housing have had GPA increases and students get the feel of a strong sense of community,” Kammerman said.
As housing prices continue to surge in the surrounding area around El Camino, including limited housing spaces, some students struggle to find affordable housing.
One student, 19-year-old Oscar Garcia, is studying heating, ventilation and air conditioning at El Camino and is looking for an apartment in the area.
“I have been looking around the area for a new apartment but it has been really difficult to find any apartment for under $1,700,” Garcia said.
El Camino Basic Needs Coordinator Sharonda Barksdale shared some tips for students to find affordable housing.
“Be diligent, access the resources and tools that are available and have a proactive mindset,” Barksdale said.
Barksdale is also involved in the housing support program at El Camino, which helps students in need of immediate housing get the help they need.
“The housing support program advocates for students and we try to help students in need of immediate housing,” Barksdale said.
If you are unhoused or in need of immediate housing, contact the Housing Support Program for support.
