On Sunday, April 7, 2019 the Albuquerque Journal published a lengthy editorial regarding the 2019 New Mexico Legislative session and what it accomplished.
The editorial was entitled “Governor’s Signature on Raft of 2019 Legislation Changes The Sate Landscape in Many Areas”. You can read the complete editorial here for the paragraphs about to be cited:
https://www.abqjournal.com/1300487/a-new-look-for-nm.html
Not at all surprising, the Albuquerque Journal editorial offers a very conservative and very Republican observation of the session and for that reason merits a point-counter point to the legislation they editorialized on by a Democrat. Because of the length of the editorial, this article is the second in a series of four articles to take issue with many of the editorial comments.
Following is the Journal Editorial paragraphs dealing with public education funding and the public-school grading system each followed by counter points offering a different perspective from a Democrats point of view.
JOURNAL EDITORIAL POINT:
“Education was … high on the governor’s campaign-promise list. Her signature on a new Early Childhood Department promises to bring efficiencies and accountability to the state’s disparate pre-kindergarten programs. Her approval of hundreds of millions more dollars for K-12 education is designed to improve opportunities for the state’s most disadvantaged students while complying with a court order. Her increasing teacher pay honors the profession and should aid morale. And her requiring the Children, Youth and Families and Public Education departments to follow students who move among districts and services should ensure more kids are safe and on track.”
COUNTER POINT:
The dramatic increases in public education funding, creation of the Early Childhood Department (CYFD), the mandates to Children, Youth and Families and Public Education departments, not to mention raises for educators and increasing CYFD social workers by 125 were clearly the biggest accomplishments of the 2019 Legislative session. Notwithstanding, the Journal gives “luke warm” comments and does not highlight the importance of the State District court ruling that mandated the increases.
On Friday, July 20, 2018, Santa Fe District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that the state of New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education. The court ruling was a confirmation of what went on for the last 8 years with the state’s at-risk children under the Republican Martinez Administration. The Judge found that it was clear that many New Mexico students are not receiving the basic education in reading, writing and math they should be receiving in our public-school system.
In her blistering written opinion, Judge Singleton wrote:
“[The evidence presented at trial] proves that the vast majority of New Mexico’s at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career. … Indeed, overall New Mexico children rank at the very bottom in the country for educational achievement. … The at-risk students are still not attaining proficiency at the rate of non-at-risk students … and the programs being lauded by [the Public Education Department] are not changing this picture.”
In New Mexico, 71.6% of the state’s public-school students come from low-income families, and 14.4% are English-language learners. Further, 14.8 percent of students have disabilities, and 10.6 percent are Native American. Judge Singleton addressing proficiency rates for Native American students said that in the past 3 years, those students’ reading proficiency was at 17.6% and their math proficiency was at 10.4%.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1200069/questions-surround-ruling-on-nm-education-funding.html
The Court found that New Mexico does not have enough teachers and that New Mexico teachers are among the lowest paid in the country and stated:
“The evidence shows that school districts do not have the funds to pay for all the teachers they need. … [An example is] Gadsden, one of the better performing school districts in the state, has had to eliminate over 53 classroom positions and 15 essential teachers since 2008.”
The Court also faulted the former Republican Governor’s Administration’s failure to provide access to technology in rural districts.
Judge Singleton ruling addressed the state teacher evaluation system implemented by the Martinez Administration by saying:
“[The teacher evaluation system] may be contributing to the lower quality of teachers in high-need schools. … In general, punitive teacher evaluation systems that penalize teachers for working in high-need schools contribute to problems in this category of schools.”
The Court rejected the former Republican Governor Administration’s arguments that no new funding is needed because at-risk student performances are improving.
During the last 8 years at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career.
No doubt the Journal’s “luke warm” comment “[the increases were] designed to improve opportunities for the state’s most disadvantaged students while complying with a court order” were the result of the District Court eviscerating the Journals’s favorite former Republican Governor’s failed public education policies and an education system that made things actually worse for children throughout New Mexico. A popular photo op of the former Republican Governor was to read aloud children’s books to child students sitting around her with admiring gazes and we all know why the former Governor was doing the reading: the children themselves did not receive the basic education in reading for their age level!
ENACTED EDUCATION BUDGET
The total approved education budget is a whopping $3.2 Billion, 16% over last year’s budget, out of the total budget of $7 Billion. Included in the budget is a $500 million in additional funding for K-12 education and increases in teacher pay. The massive infusion of funding to public education is the result of the District Court ruling that ruled the state of New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education. The District Court found that many New Mexico students are not receiving the basic education in reading, writing and math they should be receiving in our public-school system.
Early childhood programs will be given a major increase in funding. Under the enacted 2019-2020 budget, every public-school district will be allocated significantly more funding. Teachers have not had any raises to speak of for the last 8 years. Teachers and school administrators will be given 6% pay raises with more money to hire teachers.
A new “Early Childhood Department” was created starting in January 2020. This was a major priority of the Governor Lujan Grisham. The new department will focus state resources on children from birth to 5 years of age. A major goal of the new department, coupled with other investments, will be more New Mexico children growing up to secure gainful employment as adults who don’t require government services.
JOURNAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS:
“Unfortunately, the governor took the Legislature’s lead and removed the one window parents have into how well their child’s school is doing. A-F school grades will be replaced with an incomprehensible “dashboard.” And, unfortunately, the signed bill that provided raises for teachers will also automatically boost many school administrators’ salaries 6 percent, sending money that could have gone to classrooms into the pockets of those in Central Office instead. And the governor is phasing out the important ability for students over the age of 22 to still get a public education and high school diploma.”
COUNTER POINT:
Unfortunately, Journal Editorial comments are so misplaced as to be laughable if not downright embarrassing. The Journal refuses to acknowledge the biggest failure of former Republican Governor “She Who Must Not Be Named”: the failure of New Mexico’s public education system and failing our children for the last 8 years.
On December 28, 2018, it was reported that the 2018 high school class graduation rate is 73%, a 10%-point jump since 2011 when the former Republican Governor took office, something she can legitimately take credit for under her leadership. However, after 8 years of her failed leadership and despite her efforts, the state lags behind the national average of 84% for graduation rates reported by The National Center for Education Statistics.
Despite the all-time-best rates, New Mexico still lags behind all the other states in the United Stated, except the District of Columbia that had a lower high school graduation rate last year than New Mexico at 69.2 percent.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1262414/nm-grade-rate-at-73-percent.html
Throughout the 8 years of Former Republican Governor “She-Who-Must-Not-Be Named”, she was at odds with teachers over the controversial “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers”, or PARCC, tests. Republican Governor “She-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Named” with her education policies and her Secretary of Public Education appointments, especially the appointment of Secretary Hanna Skandera, contributed to and resulted in a failing education system.
Judge Singleton ruling addressed the state teacher evaluation system implemented by the former Republican Governor Administration by saying:
“[The teacher evaluation system] may be contributing to the lower quality of teachers in high-need schools. … In general, punitive teacher evaluation systems that penalize teachers for working in high-need schools contribute to problems in this category of schools.”
Things for New Mexico’s children have only gotten worse during the last 8 years under the former Republican Governor’ s leadership. For the first time in five years, New Mexico has fallen to last among states when it comes to the economic, educational and medical well-being of its children, according to a nonprofit that tracks the status of U.S. kids.
According to the 2018 Kids Count Data Book, 30% of New Mexico’s children were living in poverty in 2016, compared to 19% nationwide that year, the earliest figures available. In educational measures, the report says 75% of the state’s fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2017, compared to 65% nationally, and 80% of eighth-graders were not performing up to par in math in 2017, compared to 67% across the U.S.
The most troubling in the 2018 Kids Count Data Book is New Mexico’s steep drop in ranking for health care measures which previously was a bright spot for the state.
Rather than spending her time with photo ops reading books to illiterate children, the former Republican Governor should have paid more attention to reading the dismal statistics regarding New Mexico’s children.
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POSTSCRIPT
You can review all four “Point-Counter-Point With The Albuquerque Journal” articles by clicking on the below links: