SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is recommending that lawmakers increase the starting salary for new teachers by about 10 percent next year.
The governor proposes to raise a beginning teacher's salary to $33,000 from $30,000. It's an initiative Martinez could find support for in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
A legislative budget panel has recommended boosting the starting salary to $32,500.
The salary measure was among the educational proposals Martinez outlined during her State of the State speech to the Legislature.
The governor called for allowing teachers to become principals more quickly.
She also renewed a proposal to require schools to retain third graders who can't read adequately. Lawmakers have rejected the measure in the past, contending that the focus should be on providing more instructional help to struggling students.