properties in Mpls ..and statewide. Lenders do not like or benefit from empty
buildings. The federal government via the McKinney Act recognized the benefit
of federal property being used for homeless persons rather than sitting empty.
See the article by Joe Nathan. I think the same approach could be implemented
for the above types of property.
MAY 24, 2020
Students building houses helps solve problems
Joe Nathan / 2020 Columns / Alexandria Community and Technical College,
Anoka-Hennepin School District, Jack Lund, Jessica Lipa, Marcus Pope, Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development, Nancy Waisanen, STEP
(Secondary Technical Education Program), Students building homes, Tim Nestrud,
Youthbuild, Youthprise / 1 Comment
The Following column appeared in several APG of East Central of Minnesota
newspapers in late May, 2020, including the Sun This Week (Southern Suburbs)
Students building houses helps solve problems
Anoka-Hennepin high school senior Jack Lund and his veteran teacher Tim Nestrud
have valuable lessons for state legislators and other schools. They and their
colleagues in a statewide program called YouthBuild can help solve some of
Minnesota’s biggest problems: a lack of young people trained in the
construction field and a lack of affordable housing. I hope legislators will
listen as they finalize bonding and other legislation.
Lund, 18, spent about half of his school day during the December-to-February
semester studying carpentry and helping construct a house. He told me: “I
really liked the fact that the class is longer than the typical class. … We
could get a lot more done.” Lund also appreciated earning free college credits.
That will help him with a construction training program he’s planning to enter
next fall at Alexandria Community and Technical College.
Nestrud told me this is the 21st house that Anoka-Hennepin district students
have constructed. “It’s always been a three-bedroom rambler,” he noted. He also
explained that the construction process allows students to apply what they have
learned in class. “They … find out why math is very important in their everyday
life! … They gain knowledge, problem solving skills and confidence and are a
better informed consumer, … whether they end up working in that field or not. …
The act of demonstrating what they have learned and applying it to new
situations is awesome to be a part of.”
Jessica Lipa, director of A-H’s Secondary Technical Education Program, called
STEP, reports that in a typical year the cost of the house would be around
$60,000.
“Other costs are taxes, inspections and advertising, and I think it was around
$67,000. The other costs associated with this for the buyer include – land,
foundation, the moving company fees, etc.”
Nestrud explained, “For three years, lots for the homes were provided by the
Anoka Community Action Program.”
He figures first-year startup carpentry costs for another district would be
about $100,000.
Anoka-Hennepin isn’t the only place where high school students have been
constructing homes.
For more than a decade, young people — some of them high school dropouts or “at
risk” of dropping out — have been building homes, sometimes for homeless
people, as part of Minnesota’s YouthBuild program.
Nancy Waisanen, a grants specialist/coordinator for the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development, told me that these young people have
helped build several hundred affordable houses for Minnesotans over the last
decade, 49 units in just the 2018-19 school year. This costs Minnesota
taxpayers about a million dollars per year. Waisanen reported that state funds
have helped generate millions of federal dollars. More information is here:
Marcus Pope, vice president of Youthprise, a statewide advocacy group, calls
YouthBuild a “very positive model of young people being leaders, contributing
to community,” as the state provides “alternative ways to connect education and
work based on their interests and passion.”
More than 30 rural, suburban and urban doctors, educators, city council
members, students and community members (including yours truly) have urged
Minnesota legislators to apply lessons from YouthBuild and programs like
Anoka-Hennepin’s to the state’s huge bonding bill. They encouraged legislators
to permit high school and college construction programs, along with other
groups, to apply for funds to construct affordable housing. They’ve also
recommended that legislators make a priority of building permanent, affordable
housing for families with children and youth – both critical needs. They
documented that affordable housing helps reduce health care costs and helps
more students succeed. Their statement is here:
I hope legislators will respond. Permanent affordable housing should be a
priority in the bonding bill that Gov. Tim Walz has proposed. Housing for
families with children and youth should be a priority. Legislators should allow
school districts like Anoka-Hennepin that already have construction trades
programs to apply for some of the bonding dollars.
Yes, we have immense problems. But we also have wonderful solutions, thanks to
people like Tim Nestrud, Jack Lund, Jessica Lipa, Nancy Waisanen and Marcus
Pope. If you agree, please contact the governor and legislators.
Joe Nathan, formerly a Minnesota public school educator and PTA president
directs the Center for School Change. Reactions welcome at
<email obscured>.
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