U.S. schools desperate to find affordable housing for struggling staff: survey

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The National Education Association found in a survey that 16 percent of U.S. educators are having trouble making rent or mortgage payments, up from 12 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic, reported U.S. news portal Channel3000 on Wednesday.

The association stresses the need for greater pay increases, in addition to more affordable housing options and other benefits, according to the report.

"The pandemic exacerbated educators' challenging working conditions, leaving school systems across the country struggling to retain teaching talent and forcing some to double as both employers and landlords," said the report.

House rents are a common burden felt by teachers and other school employees nationwide, it said, noting that on average, monthly rents in the United States have nearly doubled in the past 10 years, rising from about 700 U.S. dollars a month in 2012 to more than 1,300 dollars in 2022.

Meanwhile, "the cost of living has surged to roughly six times the rate it was a decade ago," it added.