STUDY SCHOOL STAFF COMPENSATION

HM061

HOUSE MEMORIAL 61

57
th 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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