Triangle housing unaffordable for many teachers
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The Triangle's rising housing prices have made housing unaffordable for many of its teachers, according to a report from the National Council on Teacher Quality.
Driving the news: The study found that typical homeownership costs in Raleigh are 33% of an experienced teacher's salary.
- Spending more than 30% of your gross salary on housing is considered cost-burdened by experts, according to NCTQ.
Why it matters: Many teachers simply can't afford to live where they work, which can have repercussions on the quality of students' education, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, told Axios.
Zoom out: In response to rising costs, many school districts and cities across the country are building housing specifically for teachers, Axios' Emma Hurt writes.
Zoom in:, Locally, there have been some movements to help teachers live near their schools.
- Cary is building an affordable housing development that it says it will target towards teachers who struggle to find housing in town.
The big picture: "When teachers can't afford to live in the communities where they teach … that cost can be considerable," NCTQ president Heather Peske told Axios. It "threatens the teacher pipeline" and contributes to turnover, she said.
- "If you can increase their salaries, then teachers can afford to get into the housing market," she pointed out. And then, they'll be more likely to stay.
- Some of North Carolina's most prominent business leaders have pushed the state legislature to raise wages to cut down on vacancy and improve recruitment.
State of play: Teachers in North Carolina are still waiting for salary increases that have been promised in proposed state budgets.
- Budget talks in the N.C. General Assembly, however, have been delayed for months.