By WHITNEY HOLLAND
President
American Federation of Teachers New Mexico
Our K-12 public schools cannot function without classified staff. Bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, educational assistants, secretaries, and countless others keep our schools running. Every student, parent, and even lawmakers have a story about how a classified educator has impacted their life in a positive way. Yet too often, these essential employees are overlooked and underpaid, struggling to make ends meet while providing critical services to our students, families, and communities. Classified educators are often the first and last points of contact for our students each day.
Every year, discussions about increasing teacher pay take center stage in the Roundhouse, and while teachers absolutely deserve these regular increases which seek to make up for historic and gender-based pay discrimination, a troubling pattern has emerged – our classified educational staff are consistently left behind when it comes time to increase salaries. When salary increases are approved, they often go toward worthy goals like addressing teacher shortages, boosting recruitment, retaining veteran teachers, and working to preserve regional competitiveness. At the same time, there are hundreds of vacant classified positions in our schools, and hundreds more annual retirements from veteran classified staff.
Meanwhile, the classified employees who drive our buses, prepare meals, assist in classrooms, and maintain safe and clean schools remain trapped in a cycle of poverty wages, working full time, and still falling short of being able to provide for themselves or their family.
The reality is stark. Many classified employees work full-time but earn so little that they qualify for public assistance programs. Some must take second or third jobs to survive. In many school districts, a starting classified employee makes barely above minimum wage. This isn’t just unfair; it’s unsustainable.
The consequences of low pay aren’t just felt by classified staff; they impact our entire school system. When wages are too low, districts struggle to fill essential positions, leaving schools understaffed. Bus routes are canceled or combined, making students late for class. Custodial and maintenance teams are stretched so thin that school buildings fall into disrepair. Food service lines move slower, shortening students’ time to eat. Perhaps most critically, classroom aides, who provide one-on-one and small-group support to students who leave for better-paying jobs elsewhere, deprive students of crucial academic assistance.
For too long, our classified employees have been treated as an afterthought in legislative appropriations and school budgets. That must change. We cannot keep pushing them to the margins while expecting our schools to run smoothly.
The solution is simple: we must raise the minimum salary for classified school staff. Districts and lawmakers must prioritize fairer wages, ensuring every school employee earns enough to support themselves and their families. Investing in classified staff isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a direct investment in student success.
Our union represents thousands of classified educational workers across New Mexico, and while the situation remains bleak for so many of our workers, there is a strong cohort of legislators – many of whom have a background in public education themselves – who are championing this issue in the Roundhouse. The Legislative Education Study Committee, New Mexico School Boards Association, and the New Mexico Superintendents Association have all called for raising classified wages, and recently, the House Education Committee unanimously supported legislation to raise classified minimum wages. Legislative appropriators now need to find the political will to do what they know is right and fully fund efforts to better pay hardworking classified educators in our schools. It’s time to recognize their vital contributions and pay them fairly.