Española rally urges voters to support education ballot measure Nov. 8
Aug. 24—ESPAÑOLA
Children at a Head Start preschool center in Española started their Tuesday morning with exercises, jumping and dancing, while others performed tricks on swings outside.
Native American and Hispanic leaders gathered at the center to encourage community members to vote yes Nov. 8 on a constitutional amendment that would boost funds for preschool programs, child care assistance and other early childhood initiatives, particularly for low-income and minority communities.
Supporters of the amendment, which would allow the state to withdraw millions of additional dollars each year from the New Mexico Land Grant Permanent Fund to pay for such programs as well as K-12 public education, said Tuesday it would be "transformational" for the state's struggling education system.
"I'm an immigrant mother with four kids," said Carolina Carrillo, a canvasser with the nonprofit Dreams in Action, which focuses on equity issues. "And I've always wondered why education here in New Mexico is so bad. I'd be sitting at home thinking, 'Why am I here? I need to take action.' That's why for the past few years I've become a part of the campaign to fight for our children's education."
Carrillo said she's heard from people in the communities where she's canvassed that the ballot measure is something many have been waiting for to help improve schools.
New Mexico recently was ranked 50th in the nation for education and overall child well-being by the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation. The state often ranks at the bottom in the organization's annual report.
Education advocates pushed for years for the state Legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters to approve the use of additional money from the now $26 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund for early childhood programs and public education. The endowment, established in 1912, already sends hundreds of millions of dollars each year to public schools, universities and other beneficiaries.
The Legislature voted in 2021 to send the measure to voters after several previous attempts were stymied by more conservative Democrats in the state Senate. The 2021 vote was mostly along party lines.
The ballot measure would allocate about $150 million each year to the Early Childhood Education and Care Department and about $100 million to the Public Education Department.
Speakers at Tuesday's rally said the vote is an opportunity to address inequity among children in the state.
Wilhelmina Yazzie, a lead plaintiff in Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico, a lawsuit that led to a landmark ruling on education, said it's time New Mexico stepped up to give Native children the resources they need.
"I represented our Native children," Yazzie said. "They are on our lowest pedestal in our education system. They go through so much adversity and have fewer resources. Our children need to know who they are to be successful."
The 2018 Yazzie/Martinez ruling found low test scores and graduation rates as well as high remediation rates among certain groups of students, including Native children, showed the state was failing to provide a sufficient education.
The Public Education Department published a plan in May to improve outcomes for students in 23 school districts and the 70 percent of New Mexico children who are low-income, disabled, English-language learners or Native American — those identified in the Yazzie/Martinez ruling as in need of more resources.
Yazzie said money from the land grand endowment has been available for a long time and needs to be invested in students.
"Where did that money come from?" Yazzie said. "From our Indigenous lands and our resources. It's time to give that money back to [Native students]."
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., praised parents and organizers for pushing for the ballot measure to reach voters.
Luján emphasized the value of early childhood education, citing data that shows improved success in school with kids who attended preschool. He said the measure would be a lifeline for parents.
"One of the reasons that this is so important, those of you that are parents, you know how expensive child care is," he said. "And with the number of single families today across New Mexico, you're having to make a decision if you are able to afford child care and important educational opportunities for your kids."
Lujan invoked the state's history, noting the Land Grant Permanent Fund was established in 1912 alongside New Mexico's statehood and said it was the right of parents and students to access the money.
"This was an important vision to create this permanent fund to grow, to invest in kids, to create wealth in New Mexico," Lujan. "And it's done its job. It's grown. Let's invest it in kids and our futures."
