NE New Mexico News

A statewide teacher shortage has been declared a “public health emergency” by a New Mexico school board.

In urging Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to formally declare the situation an emergency, Espanola Public Schools official went public with their cries earlier this month. 

As part of their proposal, they also called on the governor to “address urgent needs that contribute to the teacher shortage,” such as pay scale and the system in place to develop young teachers at the state’s colleges and universities.

In citing statistics from the state Public Education Department that highlight how there are now more than 2,100 unfilled teaching positions in the state, the resolution stipulates that the failure to properly educate children “leaves communities vulnerable to economic decline, and results in a failure of human capital cutting across professional boundaries throughout New Mexico.”

So far, Lujan Grisham hasn’t indicated how she feels about the proposal, though spokesman Tripp Stelnicki told the Associated Press that they're moving aggressively toward rebuilding educator support systems, rapidly increasing educator pay and improving recruitment and retention, among many other initiatives that will address the educator shortage.

According to AP, the Center for American Progress recently reported that over the last decade enrollment in teacher prep programs was down across the country by 33 percent.

In New Mexico, enrollment numbers were down some 50 percent over that same period.