A middle school teacher in Texas is sleeping in his car after becoming homeless because he can’t afford rising rent costs in the state capital, but makes too much to qualify for housing assistance.
Bill Atkinson is living out of his Hyundai Venue in the parking lot of the school where he teaches fourth grade in Austin, according to local station KVUE.
While the campus where he works was not named, he has been sleeping there for the past few weeks in his beat up car with no air conditioning and all his belongings.
‘I do park at my school,’ Atkinson explained. ‘I park in a position where I don’t get a lot of parents parking around my car, so they’re not as prevalent.’
The Lone Star State educator has been on the streets for a few weeks since he says his $53,000 salary is no longer enough to scrape by.
Atkinson admitted piling debt, including student loans, have contributed to his ability to pay rent.
‘Due to mistakes and bad luck my debts are to the point I cannot afford to pay rent and payoff my debts,’ he shared on a GoFundMe page he started to try to raise money.
‘I also can’t get approved at the places my salary allows me to afford nor can I get approval for supplemental housing as a single person I make too much.’
He added that his poor credit has excluded him from being able to qualify to live in certain rentals.
However, he also makes too much to get public housing assistance.
Atkinson is far from being alone, with many public school teachers in Austin, a city that’s seen a huge population growth, struggling to make ends meet.
‘I can tell you that many of our educators are living paycheck to paycheck,’ Ovidia Molina, president of Texas State Teachers Association told the local TV station.
In Austin, the median rent is $2,225, according to Zillow, making it the most expensive city in the state.
Even Dallas and Houston, which are much bigger cities, are cheaper with median rents coming in at $2,100 in Dallas and $1,900 in Houston.
The price of housing in the popular city has skyrocketed, as the population has exploded in the last decade.
The metropolitan area is the 26th most populous in the US– with the seventh largest increase in population between 2022 and 2023, reported CBS Austin.
Teacher salaries have not kept up either.
State educators make $9,000 less than the national average, according to the National Education Association.
When inflation is factored in, teachers are making 6% less than in 2015.