Education
Preparing New Mexico’s Children to Succeed
In 2003, the Richardson/Denish Administration raided the Permanent Fund and abolished the state school board. They increased education spending by over 40% and they said they wanted to be held accountable. Their report card? Today, 40% of New Mexico students do not graduate from high school.
I will stop simply throwing more and more money at the problem – a broken school system that is failing too many children – and I will start reforming it.
Instead of accepting mediocrity in New Mexico schools and being bullied by special-interest groups into shying away from real changes, I will take on the establishment and fight for a system that puts children learning first, before anything else.
I believe we must empower parents, raise academic standards, increase school choice and reward our best teachers with higher pay. New Mexico must ensure education tax dollars make it into the classroom and do not get swallowed up by a massive education bureaucracy.
As governor, I will work to make sure New Mexico’s kids go to class. Success in life starts by simply showing up. As District Attorney in Doña Ana County, I hold parents accountable for not getting their elementary aged children to school. For excessively truant middle and high school kids, I hold classes at the DA’s office to ensure students show up each day. As governor, I will work to reduce truancy and fill our classrooms.
The measure of our success will be when New Mexico children have an opportunity to receive a quality education that allows them to chase their dreams.
