NM Legislature
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AFT New Mexico leadership says any cuts are unacceptable. Read more and contact your state senator and state representative today and leave a message: "Education cuts are unacceptable!" |
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In Febraury 2009, state senators passed four pieces of legislation to plug this year’s $454 million shortfall. The nature of cuts in these bills signaled an alarming trend of legislative priorities.
The New Mexico Independent pubished an article detailing how state lawmakers cut education before they even passed a budget. The headline summed it up, Senate slashes health, schools but spares guv’s pet project. |
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Legislature has passed a retirement funds bill that cuts school employees' pay for two years. The bill is sitting on the Governor's desk. House Bill 854, sponsored by Representative Kiki Saavedra, increases what school employees pay into the pension fund by 1.5%. If signed by Governor Richardson, all active ERA members will have to pay an extra 1.5% of their salary into the pension fund for two years. The pension cut would be rolled into the state's budget, House Bill 2, and reduce the state's payroll contribution to the pension fund by the same amount. CALL THE GOVERNOR AND LEAVE A MESSAGE: VETO HOUSE BILL 854! Read the full article. |
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Two bills that would sufficiently fund New Mexico's public schools stalled in the Senate committee process during the 2009 Legislature. House Bill 331 would have overhauled the state's outdated funding formula and House Bill 346 would have provided over $350 million to fund the formula changes.
Representative Mimi Stewart sponsored both bills. Upon final passage of House Bill 346, Representative Mimi Stewart urged lawmakers to vote for the bill, and "...to take courage and know that voting for this bill means that you're helping the kids in your district and the state." |
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NEW! Representative Mimi Stewart's Op-Ed in the Albuquerque Journal makes the case for sufficiently funding education. READ THE ARTICLE!
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House Bill 854 is part of a budget package that will cut school and state
employee pay 1.5% for two years. The purpose is to increase workers' payments into their pension funds by 1.5%—and, not coincidentally, reduce by 1.5% what the state pays into those same pension funds. CALL NOW. THIS BILL IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL! A flyer is attached in this article. Please distribute to fellow employees at your school and /or worksite. |
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The New Mexico House voted on the budget bill on 2/25. The budget cuts public education funding, supplants education funding with $160 million in federal stimulus money, and cuts school employees' pay. Section 10 in the Act increases the employee pay deduction for retirement 1.5%. This amounts to $460 a year for a beginning teacher. The pay cut will be compounded since the budget contains no money to offset the increased cost of health insurance which will be another $200-$400 dollars a year. Find out who voted against you. The budget bill now goes to Senate Finance and then to the Senate floor for a final vote.
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IF YOU’RE NOT MAD, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION.
AFT New Mexico and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation have joined together to push members to stand up and fight fro school empoyees and public school funding. A radio ad will air on numerous stations this week informing taxpayers and parents about the wrong decisions being made in Santa Fe, particularly the decision to balance the budget on the backs of school children and school employees. The public school budget and other bills are flatly anti-education, anti-labor, and anti-school school employee but they are flying through the legisalture at lightening speed. READ THE FULL ARTICLE FOR THE RADIO AD. AND FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY. |
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NEW! Last week, AFT New Mexico President Christine Trujillo joined with over twenty other organizations to ask legislators to offset cuts to public education and other public services. In a letter submitted by AFT New Mexico and other allied organizations, partners called for the legislature to find new revenues to fund public schools including passing laws for combined reporting, a lodgers tax, and more.
This week, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 2, the budget bill. We oppose House Bill 2 since it cuts school employees pay and reduces public education funding. House Bill 2 now moves to the senate. |
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Public School Funding: Litigation History in NM
As lawmakers continue to cut public education funding, others are worried that pubic school advocates may eventually decide to sue the state for failing to comply with its' own constiutional mandate to provide funding for a "sufficient public education" for school children. Review the history of public school funding litigation in New Mexico.
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Our pension system is in trouble. Our fund lost over $2 billion in a six month period. We support some measures to fix it, and oppose others. Find out what is being proposed in Santa Fe and where we stand by reading the full article.
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Legislators are creating a public school budget that has no money to offset the increased costs of healthcare. House Bill 3, the Education Appropriation Act, contains no money to help offset the premium increases. If left as is, that will mean a steep pay cut for K-12 and Higher Education employees. Read the full article but first:
Call your senators and representatives today and leave a message: Please include money in the budget to offset health insurance costs for school employees! " |
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Public schools are taking a hit to help balance the budget. Governor Richardson signed a package of bills into law on Friday to erase a projected budget deficit this year of $450 by cutting government spending, including a 1% reduction to public schools.
These “fiscal solvency” bills: |
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MEDIA RELEASE - Feb. 6, 2009, ABQ – Dr. EllenBernstein, spokesperson for the ABQ Teachers Federation, Educational Assistants Association, and AFT New Mexico said, “Education employees have graded the ABQ Chamber of Commerce, Association of Commerce & Industry, Hispano Chamber of Commerce and Restaurant Owners Association. Today, we’re declaring that business gets an ‘F’ when it comes to funding education.”
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It's time to take action on our issues.
I need your help. Please read this blog regularly to find out what you can do to help us win funding for education and prevent harmful legislation including education cuts, wage and benefit cuts, and overall program cuts. I will include regular updates and direct links to send a message to your state senator and state representative. NEW! Proposed budget cuts education funding, makes school employees pay more out of pocket for pensions. Read more. |
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It's time to pass a living wage for public school secretaries, bookkeepers, and clerks.
House Bill 18, sponsored by Representative Jack Thomas, and Senate Bill 312, sponsored by Senator Tim Eichenberg, would provide hourly minimums for public school secretaries, bookkeepers, and clerks. These bills are the result of a three year process put into play in 2005 when a House Memorial directed a task force to study the compensation levels of public school secretaries, bookkeepers, and clerks. The study found that 55% of these employees could be classified as advanced with 7 years or more experience and that their jobs were associated with high responsibility. However, 40% of these employees are earning only $6.00-$10.00 an hour. Ask your state senator and representative to vote yes on these bills. Send a letter to lawmakers now by clicking here. |
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It is our belief that the way we spend our money is a statement about our values system. Equally, the way that state and federal lawmakers spend taxpayer money is a statement about their values system.
Our members are growing increasingly angry and horrified that government can always seem to find the money to bail out the private sector, to continually offer massive tax breaks and giveaways to corporations in the name of jobs – but that there is never enough money for meaningful healthcare and education reform. [READ THE FULL STATEMENT] |
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From the President, Christine Trujillo & Vice President, Kathy Chavez
January 22 President Barack Obama has banned lawmakers’ pet projects from his economic stimulus plan. State lawmakers in New Mexico should do the same. As of today, there are 10 pages full of pork projects proposed by state legislators from public artwork, to skate parks, to therapy pools, to baseball field construction and golf courses and luxury bath houses. Yet some lawmakers have proposed to cut $58 million in public school capital outlay funding to balance this year's budget shortfall. This is money that's needed to fix our schools and keep people working. Cutting public school capital outlay is a case of wrong priorities. We have a better answer. |
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As legislators look for ways to offset a budget shortfall next year, cuts to our retirement benefits may be targeted as a way to save money. We disagree. Compared to other public employees, education employees already have a separate and unequal system. Read the article to find out how our system, the ERA is different than the retirement offered to other public employees (PERA).
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Early child care and education needs an organized voice through the legislative process for child care educators, directors and other employees to increase the availability of quality early care and education. Join our campaign to give a voice to early child care providers and directors. Our kids are counting on it! Read more about the Access to Quality Childcare Workforce Act.
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Check this list to see if your state senator and representative will vote YES on $15K, $20K, $25K minimum pay for EAs, CSLs and CSAs.
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Email a personal letter to your state senator and representative. Tell them to support and vote YES on $15K, $20K, $25K minimum pay for EAs, CSLs and CSAs.
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Advocating for sufficient funding for our students, programs, and school employees is our mission in Santa Fe during the sixty day session. Find out about the session, our joint AFT New Mexico/NEA-NM legislative platform, and our legislative priorities with the New Mexico Education Partners by reading the full article.
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Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT.