Issue: Education
Effective education policy includes returning authority to the states and empowering parents with the opportunity to choose a safe and effective education for their children.
New Mexico’s legislative defenders of Freedom
Who in the Legislature voted in favor of freedom and personal responsibility in 2020? We tracked it all on our Freedom Index and you can find out for yourself by clicking the link and plugging in your address (if you don't already know who your legislators are). While...
The 2020 Freedom Index Results are out! How did your legislators fare on freedom?
The Rio Grande Foundation's vote tracking tool, the Freedom Index, has been available all throughout the 2020 legislative session with bills ranked and legislators' votes scored in what amounts to "real time." At the Rio Grande Foundation website you can access bill...
Opinion article: “Free” College Proposal Raises Serious Questions
The following article appeared in several New Mexico news outlets on September 30, 2019 including the Las Cruces Sun-News. Gov. Lujan Grisham has put forth a plan (set for debate and possible approval in the 2020 Legislature) for “free” college for New Mexico...
Discussing the Gov’s plan for “free” college on KOB TV Channel 4
Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing sat down with KOB TV to discuss the plan for "free" college. You can check out the story below. As of Thursday afternoon, September 26, we have not received any details in terms of the estimated $25-$35 million price tag...
RGF provides comment for KOAT 7 Albuquerque Public Schools bond story
Albuquerque area voters will be asked to vote this November on a $290 million bond measure for APS. KOAT Channel 7 did a story in which they talked to APS about the real issues at some local schools and the District's mismanagement of those facilities. Although many...
No Need for New Permanent Fund in New Mexico
The following appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on September 15. While there are a number of bad ideas being put forth in Santa Fe to use a portion of the oil and gas surplus, the idea of creating a new permanent fund Budget analysts in New Mexico expect the...
NM spends 2nd most in nation on higher education ALREADY
With Gov. Lujan-Grisham having proposed "free" college, it is worth noting that New Mexico already spends more per $1,000 of personal income than any other state in the nation beside Wyoming. What results have those dollars generated? Will "free" college make a big...
RGF president comments on “free college” for KOAT TV story
There are any number of reasons to be concerned about Gov. Lujan-Grisham's plans to make higher education "free" for New Mexico students. I shared some reasons in my recent interview with KOAT TV. This interview was conducted via Skype from Roswell, NM!
The following appeared at KRWG.org on August 29, 2019. Like all New Mexicans, we at the Rio Grande Foundation want to see an improved K-12 system in place. I have two daughters in traditional public school. While concerned about the quick turnover at the top of the...
Rio Grande Foundation questions APS Superintendent’s massive pay raise in KOB TV story
Teachers at Albuquerque Public Schools are getting raises totaling 6 percent or more. Already highly-paid Superintendent Raquel Reedy will get an 11% raise with her salary going from $248,000 a year to $276,000 a year. See the full story below:
RGF provides US Census data showing NM spends more than neighbors on K-12 for story
The Rio Grande Foundation recently published a story noting that the latest Census data show New Mexico outspending all of our neighboring states per-student in the area of K-12 education. You can find that post which includes a link to the original Census data here....
RGF report on UNM/NMSU sports teams generates coverage
The Rio Grande Foundation earned some serious news coverage recently in its critique of the "major" college sports programs at UNM and NMSU. In taking the position that student fees and taxpayer dollars should not be diverted to prop up sports programs we put fort the...
