A Demand for New Mexico’s Public Schools

New Mexico’s Legislature must get back to basics and focus on the 3 Rs: Respect. Recruit. Retain.

This is the only way to honor our New Mexico public educators and provide our students with the education they deserve.

Salaries, healthcare, better staffing, and a dignified retirement are only a first step, we must go further.

We are demanding a commitment that will ensure we do more than survive as public school employees—we want to thrive, and we want our students to thrive.

Educators must be shown the respect and trust we have earned and be allowed to teach to our students’ strengths and meet their areas in need of growth in innovative ways.

By investing in well prepared, well respected, and well-paid educational employees New Mexico will be able to compete nationally during a time of unprecedented shortages.

We ask for your support by signing our petition and statement of values to demand the New Mexico Legislature act before it is too late!

New Mexico’s schools are at critical juncture due to the historic level of vacancies across all positions in our system of public education. Unless lawmakers in New Mexico enact bold remedies to address this looming crisis, we risk jeopardizing the education of generations of New Mexico’s students.

There are more than 1,000 vacant licensed positions across our State, and teacher vacancies are only the tip of the iceberg. These 1,000 vacancies alone represent over 20,000 of New Mexico’s students without a high-quality, well-trained, permanent classroom teacher.

The on-going COVID-19 pandemic is only exacerbating this crisis, and veteran educators are retiring at alarming and unsustainable levels, further placing our State’s already fragile educational system in jeopardy.

We are not alone in this crisis. Forty percent of school districts across the United States report severe or severe staffing shortages which range from classroom teachers and essential and related services providers to classified employees like custodians, educational assistants, clerical workers, transportation professionals, cafeteria staff, and all the other positions that make our schools run.

Furthermore, the staffing shortages disproportionately impact students of color and those living below the poverty line. For New Mexico to resolve the issues identified in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit (2018), drastic action must be taken. Quality and sufficient staffing are at the heart of Judge Singleton’s ruling:

“Native American and ELL students, including the New Mexico Indian Education Act, Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, and the Hispanic Education Act, which has resulted in an inadequate education system for New Mexican students.

In violation of the state constitution, the state has failed to provide students with the programs and services that it acknowledges prepare them for college and career. Such programs and services include: quality PreK, K-3 Plus, extended learning, dual language, culturally and linguistically relevant education, social services, small class sizes, and sufficient funding for teacher recruitment, retention, and training.

Lack of funds is not an excuse for denying New Mexico’s students a sufficient education. The state must come up with the necessary funding to meet New Mexico students' right to a sufficient education.

The PED has failed to meet its oversight functions to ensure that all students are receiving the programs and services they need.”

And that’s only our K-12 educational settings. Early education classrooms as well as our colleges and universities also suffer from persistent vacancies. Too few New Mexicans, whether they be recent high school graduates or those seeking a second career see education as a viable, respected profession that can provide for their families, keep themselves healthy, and provide a dignified retirement after many years of service.

This is an unparalleled staffing crisis which is not unique to New Mexico, but New Mexico can be a leader in stemming the exodus of educators from the classroom.

Act Now for Students and Educators

Salaries, healthcare, better staffing, and a dignified retirement are only a first step, we must go further.

We are demanding a commitment that will ensure we do more than survive as public school employees—we want to thrive, and we want our students to thrive.

Educators must be shown the respect and trust we have earned and be allowed to teach to our students’ strengths and meet their areas in need of growth in innovative ways.

By investing in well prepared, well respected, and well-paid educational employees New Mexico will be able to compete nationally during a time of unprecedented shortages.

We ask for your support by signing this statement of values and demand the New Mexico Legislature act before it is too late!

Sign our petition today to tell New Mexico’s Legislature that we must get back to basics and focus on the 3 Rs: Respect. Recruit. Retain.

This is the only way to honor our New Mexico public educators and provide our students with the education they deserve.