Educational assistants raise bill passes first committee

The House Education Committee has advanced two bills, including one that would boost public school employee pay.

Both proposals have previously been endorsed by the Legislative Education Study Committee.

The first bill, House Bill 199, would increase the minimum salaries of all full-time public school employees, and specifically educational assistants, to $30,000 per year.

The bill would also raise the minimum wage rate of all public school personnel from $6 per hour to $15, regardless of if they’re full-time.

“These employees are the backbone of our schools, often the first point of contact at the start of the school day and the providers of consistency and stability in our places of learning,” American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland said during the Friday meeting. “It is time for us to do right by them.”

Last legislative session, lawmakers more than doubled the minimum salaries of educational assistants, from $12,000 to $25,000. But even at that time, some noted that $25,000 was still a low salary, though it was a good start.

According to its fiscal impact report, the LFC estimates the total cost around $44.5 million, but said the raises could cost up to $56.1 million.

The other bill to pass the House Education Committee on Friday was the technical House Bill 135, which sponsor Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, described as a “straightforward bill” to streamline dollars from the Indian education fund to Native American communities.

“It replaces an inefficient grant process with automatic upfront distributions,” he said. “Based on intergovernmental agreements, it allows tribes to carry over funds to prevent reversions, and to continue projects beyond its grant cycles.”

Both bills passed the committee unanimously and appear to be headed to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.