New Mexico plans to expand prekindergarten slots, increase pre-K teacher pay

SANTA FE — New Mexico will boost the pay of prekindergarten teachers and sharply expand the number of pre-K slots available to families as it puts to use an injection of new funding, state officials say.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Wednesday during a speech at the White House, where she pitched early childhood education as a critical strategy for interrupting the cycle of poverty in New Mexico.

Addressing state legislators and other officials from 41 states, Lujan Grisham said a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year will make extra funding available for early childhood programs. Nearly $100 million, she said, will go toward expanding instructional hours and boosting teacher pay.

As part of the increase, the number of pre-K slots funded by the state will jump by more than 3,000 in the coming school year, a 21% bump over last year, according to the Early Childhood Education and Care Department.

“It’s going to make a difference for the families of New Mexico who can’t wait one more second for the kinds of support and services that they need,” the governor said.

In her speech, Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who won reelection last year, said policymakers of both parties in New Mexico recognize the importance of ensuring kids start kindergarten ready to thrive.

The debate, instead, has focused on what funding source should be used to cover the cost of expanding pre-K, home visiting programs for new parents, child care assistance and similar programs, she said.

The state has increased annual withdrawals out of its permanent school fund, established an early childhood trust fund and dedicated increased general funding to early childhood programs.

The extra distribution out of the permanent fund — an endowment of sorts — is expected to generate $240 million a year for early childhood and K-12 education. It was approved by lawmakers and voters after a decade of debate.

Republican legislators opposed the withdrawal, saying it would slow the growth of the endowment and ultimately lead to less money than if the fund had been left alone. Democrats pitched it as a worthwhile investment that can make long-lasting improvements in academic achievement.

A peer-reviewed analysis by staff for the Legislative Finance Committee found pre-K participation in New Mexico is associated with increased reading and math proficiency and higher high school graduation rates.

“For a state where parents have been poor and kids have been disadvantaged,” Lujan Grisham said at the White House event, “this impact is the New Mexico miracle, and it can happen all across the country.”

With help from the increased funding, early childhood educators who have a bachelor’s degree will make at least $50,000 a year, state officials.

New Mexico children face deep challenges. A report released this month by the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked the state last in the nation for child well-being — a ranking that took into account New Mexico’s worsening rates of reading and math proficiency among students from 2019 to 2022.

The state has ranked 50th or 49th every year since 2012, according to New Mexico Voices for Children, an advocacy group that supports expanding early childhood education.