HOUSE MEMORIAL 61

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Raymundo Lara

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE TO STUDY COMPENSATION FOR CLASSIFIED PUBLIC SCHOOL AND SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES, STATEWIDE COSTS OF LIVING AND HOUSING AVAILABILITY AND OPTIONS TO IMPROVE COMPENSATION.

 

     WHEREAS, the success of public schools depends on the hard work and dedication of all school employees, including educational assistants, instructional support providers, bus drivers, food service providers, custodians, security personnel and many others; and

     WHEREAS, school districts and charter schools face challenges staffing all critical public school positions and report concerns about salary compaction for existing school employees; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico state university's 2025 New Mexico educator vacancy report identified more than three hundred vacancies in classified classroom positions in public schools statewide, with disproportionately high vacancy rates in classified special education positions; and

     WHEREAS, the 2025 New Mexico educator vacancy report does not include data on vacancies in classified non-classroom positions, but other research suggests high vacancies in these positions; for example, a 2023 report by the legislative education study committee noted regional bus driver shortages related to competition with higher-paying private sector positions for licensed commercial drivers; and

     WHEREAS, according to the Massachusetts institute of technology, the minimum living wage in New Mexico is twenty dollars ten cents ($20.10) per hour for a single-person household and twenty-four dollars fifty-one cents ($24.51) for a four-person household with two working adults and two children; provided that in some New Mexico counties with higher costs of living, the minimum living wage is higher; and

     WHEREAS, in 2023, the legislature increased salaries for educational assistants and instructional support providers to a minimum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per year, but according to the United States census bureau, these salaries are still below the national average of nearly thirty-four thousand dollars ($34,000) per year; and

     WHEREAS, some full-time classified public school employees have reported to legislators that the employees have needed to take on second jobs, have experienced housing and food insecurity and have resorted to selling blood plasma to supplement inadequate incomes; and

     WHEREAS, over the past several years, the legislature has increased salaries for teachers and other certified public school employees, and those salary increases have notably decreased vacancies in certified positions and improved retention rates for those positions;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee be requested to study:

          A. compensation for classified public school employees, including classified school district employees who provide transportation, food or custodial services;

          B. statewide costs of living and housing availability; and

          C. options to improve compensation, including opportunities for career advancement or salary differentials based on experience, credentials or staffing needs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include input from the legislative finance committee, the public education department, local school districts, charter schools and public school employees' unions; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee's research, findings and recommendations be reported to the governor and the legislature on or before October 31, 2026; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the legislative education study committee, the legislative finance committee and the public education department.

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