ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she wants sustained pay increases for public school employees after a recent round of salary hikes.
Teachers flocked Wednesday night to a town-hall-style forum in Albuquerque where Lujan Grisham and three Cabinet secretaries answered questions about public education.
Lujan Grisham said state-funded salary increases this year of at least 6% for public school employees are not enough and that pay for educators “cannot be stagnant.”
Lawmakers convene in January to craft a spending bill for the coming fiscal year with an anticipated $800 million annual general fund surplus. Lujan Grisham also touted her proposal for a new financial trust devoted to early childhood education and an initiative to provide free college tuition for in-state residents.
