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Wednesday, July 23, 2025Report On School Vouchers Draws Sharp Reactions; We Hear From Leading Republicans, A Veteran Teacher, A High School Executive Director And More On the supportive side, predictably, were Republicans who have long sought the program that would provide funding for public school parents--(disadvantaged ones in our view)--to send their kids to private schools. State Senate Minority leader Bill Sharer of Farmington came with this reaction: Joe, I wanted to comment on Tuesday’s blog: You’re right, we have to do something about improving educational outcomes for New Mexico students. I think you’re on the right track when proposing a limited school voucher program. Senate Republicans introduced the "Education Freedom Account Act" (SB286) during this year’s session which would have provided educational opportunities for low-income students in the form of school vouchers. Despite being endorsed by every member of our caucus, this bill was denied a single hearing (imagine that). Until lawmakers from the other side of the aisle have the courage to do something in the true interests of NM students, we will continue to be dead last in the nation and as you put: “lose another generation of young New Mexicans.” Sharer worked collaboratively with Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth last legislative session in crafting legislation to advance critical behavioral health reform. Is it out of the question that the pair could brainstorm the voucher issue as the state's public education decline continues? GOP Rep. Rebecca Dow wrote on social media: I don’t often cheer what Joe Monahan said, but school choice is right—let’s move it ahead! Red or blue, let’s do what’s right— Our kids need hope, and futures bright. The cheers died down quickly. Trey Smith, executive director of the East Mountain High School, wrote: Joe, you are absolutely correct that education outcomes have stalled in New Mexico and that some radical solutions are needed. However, the argument that a school voucher system, which assumes a school like Albuquerque Academy is somehow going to better serve students with disabilities than our public schools, is fallacious. New Mexico could learn from states that have experienced impressive turnaround. Mississippi adopted the science of reading and drastically turned around their reading scores. New Mexico could financially reward the schools that are demonstrating positive results with those Yazzie subgroups, like many charter schools are. Stop passing laws that make it harder for good charter schools to operate. New Mexico should also double down on its school accountability system, and expand/replicate the schools that are working. There are plenty of evidence-based solutions to turn this ship around before dismantling the entire public school system through vouchers. We just need an executive and a legislature with the political courage to get it done. Thanks, Trey. As you know the example of Mississippi has frequently been debated in Santa Fe with no action. Another reason why we were moved to change positions. TEACHER VIEW  Joe, Vouchers are death to public education. Period. In no way should public monies ever be used to fund private institutions. This state is plagued by generations of broken people. Poverty is the beast that plays a huge hand in situations that inflict childhood trauma. Poverty also serves as the breeding ground for depression which many think can be numbed by drugs and alcohol. Guess how many of these folks are parents of school-aged children? How exactly does public education address the problems that plague our students? How can we force families who are in survival mode to ensure their children are read to and/or read every night? How does the state ensure that children are receiving educational support at home? Teaching students is a joint effort. Public education teachers are not a child's first teacher, parents are. Ideally, an incoming kindergartener should be able to identify the letters of the alphabet, know their colors, numbers to at least 10, know how to hold a pencil/crayon, and how to write their name. How many do you think come in knowing all of that? Do you really think that allowing this same kindergartener to attend St. Mary's, Manzano Day School etc. is going to make this child more successful? Public education serves everyone who walks through the door, rich or poor. Public school educators pour their heart and soul into their vocation every single day. They teach the students who may not have had clean socks to wear or a warm breakfast from home. They do their very best to make up for what they can't or didn't receive at home. I assure you that those who are in favor of vouchers know very little about public education (aside from a newspaper article on school ranking), or have children already enrolled at a private school. MISSISSIPPI AND FINLAND From Rio Rancho Mitchell Freedman had these thoughts: Joe, I can't believe you are throwing in the towel. School vouchers for private schools? That just takes money from public schools, and it is worse than a mixed record--it primarily helps wealthier communities. I would rather see NM officials study Mississippi's reforms and even better, Finland's. The latter went from the bottom to the top with the the type of reforms that promoted public investment and public support. That tends to work much better than letting people fend for basic services in an environment where privateers gouge and rip off people who can't navigate complexities. I have been deeply disappointed with our leadership and their weird focus on things like number of school days that are insulting to smaller communities. They really need to get much more focused on the type of reforms Finland did for starters. Mississippi, too. Trey, Mitchell and Carolyn make excellent points and we thank them. But we are weary from years of waiting while so many public school students are failing. The current bureaucracy as well as the education establishment, including the teachers' unions that do much good, have stagnated along with the legislature. It's time for something new. A limited, experimental voucher program to test results is hardly revolutionary but it is a desperately needed step away from the status quo. THE BOTTOM LINES
It is easy to confuse the words founder and flounder, not only because they sound similar but also because the contexts in which they are used overlap. Founder means, in its general and extended use, ‘fail or come to nothing, sink out of sight’ (‘the scheme foundered because of lack of organizational backing’). Flounder, on the other hand, means ‘struggle, move clumsily, be in a state of confusion’ (‘new recruits floundering about in their first week’) Alright, class dismissed. If you read this far, you get an A. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
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