A group of New Mexico teachers held a rally Jan. 23 to demand that legislators address a statewide teacher shortage, KRQE reported.
The educators, gathering outside the state Capitol, called for higher wages, affordable housing and childcare, health care, and resources for their classrooms, the station reported. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on all areas of education, the teachers said.
“Not enough folks are going into the field because of the low wages and the unrealistic expectations and some of the public education mandates that we need to sort of rein in,” Grace Mayer, Santa Fe president of the National Education Association told the station.
According the NEA, there are more than 1,000 vacant teaching positions in New Mexico. That results in about 20,000 students without a permanent teacher.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is pushing for 7% raises for all education personnel, according to a release.
“The educators here in New Mexico love their students and they want to make sure that they have everything they need and deserve so they are safe and they can continue to learn,” national NEA President Becky Pringle said.
Teachers want the “three Rs,” Mary Parr-Sanchez, NEA's president in New Mexico said.
“We must respect, recruit and retain educators in our state by closing the salary gap between educators and other professions,” she said.