Here's how legislated teacher raises would affect Carlsbad
Just one week into the 2022 New Mexico legislative session, lawmakers introduced legislation to address one of New Mexico's most pressing matters — a statewide teacher shortage.
On Jan. 26 the Senate Education Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 1, which would increase salary minimums for New Mexico teachers. New Mexico Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-17) said the bill was paired with a 7 percent across the board raise for all educators in the state.
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If passed as written, Senate Bill 1 would raise minimum salaries from $40,000 to $50,000 for level one teachers, $50,000 to $60,000 for level two teachers and $60,000 to $70,000 for level three teachers.
But, how would this affect Carlsbad's educators?
President of the National Education Association-Carlsbad Rosemary Carrasco told the Current-Argus the new minimums would increase pay for some level two and level three teachers in the district.
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Carlsbad Municipals Schools had already raised teachers' salaries in 2021 in response to legislation that put it at a disadvantage in educator funding and forced the district to compete for experienced teachers with other school districts in the area, Carrasco said.
"As a community near the Texas border, we for years have not been able to recruit new educators to our community when the starting salary in Texas was 10K or higher," Carrasco said. "NEA-Carlsbad has worked with the district to minimize and overcome the challenge of past legislation."
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CMS raised its minimum starting salary to $50,000 for level one teachers, $55,000 for level two teachers and $65,000 for level three teachers, under a collective bargaining agreement with the NEA-Carlsbad. Under the agreement, teachers with 25 years of experience could make up to $86,000 a year.
Under the proposed legislation, teachers that get more than a 7 percent raise from the tier increase, will not receive an additional raise, according to the Public Education Department. If the tier increase falls short of delivering a 7 percent raise, that teacher would get an additional bump to bring their increase to 7 percent.
"The first thing that we're recommending is that the minimums be implemented for all teachers, and then the 7 percent raise be added after the minimums and that will allow a lot more local control, more flexibility and a greater opportunity," said Public Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus.
Legislators said the raises would help school districts recruit and retain educators after the number of teacher vacancies statewide nearly doubled from 571 in 2020 to 1,048 in 2021, according to the Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center.
As of Jan. 26, CMS had 73 job openings, 17 of which were for teachers.
"This year’s legislation will allow us to work to ensure staff can meet the needs of living in our community while actively being able to recruit new educators to our district," Carrasco said.
Claudia Silva is a reporter from the UNM Local Reporting Fellowship. She can be reached at csilva2@currentargus.com, by phone at 575-628-5506 or on Twitter @thewatchpup.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Under legislation, some Carlsbad teachers may be eligible for raises
