Austin ISD still considering affordable housing for teachers

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's no secret that housing prices and rental prices are expensive in Austin. According to Zumper.com, a site used to locate apartments, the median rent in Austin is now $1,725.

Some teachers say it's hard living in the city on a teacher's salary.

Rising prices are one reason why Austin Independent School District has looked at adding affordable housing for teachers.

Over the summer, AISD discussed adding $50 million for affordable housing to their bond package proposals, but the housing proposal was later removed. However, the district said the idea may not be completely off the table.

"We're one of the biggest land owners in the city," said AISD spokesperson Jason Stanford over the summer. "We own the land which makes it remarkably affordable to own housing, and one of the hardest things for us to retain employees, mainly teachers, is the cost of housing in Austin. So, if we can control that cost, we figure we can retain more teachers."

This developing story will be updated.