Doug Turner
My hope is that my fellow New Mexicans will join me in voting for reform and for placing the interests of children and their parents before politics.
At a time when good jobs are scarce and our economic future uncertain, lawmakers in Santa Fe have a responsibility to put aside partisan bickering and unite to enact reforms that give New Mexico a real shot at prosperity.
This year, Governor Martinez submitted two school-reform proposals that should have given our legislators the opportunity to show their ability to find a common ground for the greater good.
Her first proposal would have required literacy by 3rd grade, as a means to accurately evaluate student progress. The second would have established measures to finally evaluate educators on the actual results of their work, rather than focusing mostly on seniority and credentials as we do now.
Enacting her legislation would have not only improved our classrooms, it would have sent a strong message to the nation’s job creators that New Mexico is finally serious about improving education. By both rejecting the governor’s proposals and then curtailing the growth of charter schools, the Legislature blocked real efforts to improve quality and accountability in education.
Killing affordable and doable proposals
Early last year Governor Martinez created the Effective Teaching Task Force to develop the evaluation system detailed in her bills. Nine of the twelve members of the task force were current or former teachers. Eight represented minority or special needs communities. Seven were administrators and six were parents. Organized labor and the business community were represented as well. The process was open and transparent.
The proposals born from the work of the governor’s task force were affordable and doable. The first phased in the transition to a focus on test score results over time, providing a simple measurement for student achievement. The second recognized and honored successful teachers and it provided professional development help for those teachers who really might need and benefit from it. Both included the necessary funds to make it all a reality.
But tragically, rather than work these two proposals through the process and deliver them to the governor’s desk, the Legislature failed on both fronts and killed the bills.
Attacking charter schools
Adding insult to injury, some legislative members chose to focus their energy and attention on dimming the one bright spot on the educational landscape by attacking the public charter school funding mechanism that has provided nearly 20,000 students with school choice. Believe it or not, they actually succeeded in including this damaging policy change as part of HB2 – the state budget.
It seems beyond the pale that the Legislature would ignore real reform and instead obsess over charter schools that often offer a profound contrast to public school. Thankfully, Governor Martinez used her line-item veto to protect the future of charter schools in New Mexico. For this, the governor deserves the gratitude of those who truly care about education reform.
Until the monopoly is broken
Until the monopoly on power held by teacher’s unions and the educational system’s bureaucracy is broken, true legislative dedication to educational reform will continue to elude us. Every New Mexican will have an opportunity to help in that effort with their vote this November.
As New Mexicans eventually head to the polls, they should ask themselves if they want representatives and senators in Santa Fe who will champion education reform as Governor Martinez has, or if they instead want the legislative gridlock that continues to fail our kids and our economy.
My hope is that my fellow New Mexicans will join me in voting for reform and for placing the interests of children and their parents before politics.
Turner, a former Republican candidate for governor, is the owner and operator of the public relations firm DW Turner.