When Teachers Get Priced Out Of The Housing Market

Published September 16, 2015 at 2:58 PM CDT

After five days of striking, teachers in Seattle have reached a tentative agreement with the school district to set a new standard for pay and the length of the school day. Officials are hopeful they’ll be able to get classes started by Thursday.

One of the main points made by the teachers union is that they have gone six years without a cost-of-living raise, making it hard to live in Seattle where rent and home prices have skyrocketed in recent years – in part because of the city’s booming technology industry.

That’s not just an issue in Seattle. Around the country, in cities like New York, Austin, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the cost of living has been rising, taking a toll on many teachers.

Education reporter Lillian Mongeau took a look at what is happening in the heart of the tech boom, Silicon Valley, and speaks with Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti about what she discovered.

The Hechinger Report: Silicon Valley's skyrocketing housing costs shut out teachers

Guest

Lillian Mongeau, West Coast correspondent for The Hechinger Report. She tweets @lrmongeau.