After-school Push Next Step In New Mexico’s Education Transformation

Progress on improving public education in New Mexico is off to a strong start thanks to the collaborative work of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Democratic-led Legislature. 

The governor’s bold “Education Moonshot” delivered almost $500 million more in recurring funds for K-12 classrooms, including $113 million targeted to at-risk students living in poverty, or speaking English as a second language. A healthy 6 percent across-the-board pay raise for educators should help ease the pressure of a teacher shortage in our schools that worsened unchecked through the Martinez years. We also created a new cabinet-level department to focus squarely on all aspects of early childhood education and childcare in the state, which has been lagging. The task for state policy makers is to allow these policies to take root, but also to consider the needs of children when they are not in school…..……………………..