Originally published at abqjournal.com on January 19, 2025.
As the vice chairwoman of the Southwest Public Policy Institute (SPPI) and a proud advocate for New Mexico’s children, our state’s education reform is long overdue.
With my husband, state Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, preparing to introduce a comprehensive school choice bill in the upcoming 2025 legislative session, it’s time for New Mexico to embrace the change that so many families and communities desperately need.
Tonja Brandt
Vice Chairwoman, Southwest Public Policy Institute
For years, Craig has fought tirelessly for school choice legislation, only to face fierce opposition from New Mexico Democrats who have long resisted meaningful reforms to our education system. Despite his repeated attempts, these efforts have been thwarted by lawmakers who prioritize the status quo, leaving our children stuck in underperforming schools — most notably in the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) district, which continues to fail our students.
SPPI’s surveys have made it clear that New Mexico’s parents are fed up with the lack of quality educational options and are demanding change. Over 75% of parents in Albuquerque expressed a desire to enroll their children in charter schools if given the opportunity, and many cited dissatisfaction with the current state of public education, especially in APS. Parents are tired of the endless bureaucracy and the fact that so much money is poured into a system that fails to produce measurable results.
Meanwhile, our neighboring states are moving forward. Arizona has successfully adopted school choice reform in recent years, and Texas is also pushing forward with its initiatives to offer parents more educational freedom. New Mexico cannot afford to fall further behind. We must make significant strides in education reform to stay competitive and give our children the best opportunities to succeed.
APS spends billions of dollars each year. Yet, academic outcomes remain dismal, with only 40% of high school students testing proficient or above in reading and even fewer in math. The district has struggled with declining enrollment, rising costs, and significant inefficiencies. This system is not working, and it’s time to think outside the box.
School choice is a proven solution. It empowers parents to select the best educational option for their children, whether a charter school, private school or homeschooling. It increases competition and ensures that schools are held accountable for their performance. Most importantly, it allows children to thrive in an environment that best meets their needs.
As we approach the 2025 legislative session (beginning Tuesday), I urge lawmakers to listen to the concerns of New Mexico parents. It’s time to prioritize the needs of our children and adopt policies that give families the freedom to choose the best educational path. Craig’s bill is an essential step in the right direction, but it needs the support of all lawmakers who care about the future of our state’s children.
New Mexico must become more competitive with our neighbors, offering parents the tools to ensure their children receive the education they deserve. The status quo has failed. It’s time to disrupt the system, introduce school choice reform, and create a brighter future for all New Mexico students.
Originally published at abqjournal.com on January 19, 2025.
3 replies on “Albuquerque Journal: It’s Time to Disrupt the System and Introduce Real School Reform in New Mexico”
I fail to understand why there is so much opposition to school choice from democrats. The reason they give is it takes money from public schools. I am pretty sure Craig Brant’s bill takes the amount of money New Mexico spends on each student and would give that amount and gives it to parents to decide how they want to spend it wheather it is public school, private school, charter school or home schooling. with a democrat majority in NM of senators and representatives I am almost sure this bill will fail. I am pretty sure that in the past and at the national level other bills allowing for school choice only some of the money spent per student is given to the parent to decide how they want their child educated. I think Mr Brant’s bill should give parents something like 75% to spend I think this stands a better chance of passing because the schools would get money for students not attending so the opposition could not say the public schools were loosing money because they would have more money per student
As a very active Republican in Roosevelt County, I come from a long line of Educators. This started when Bill Richardson took the power away from local School Boards. PED must go! Tax dollars must follow the students. No Child Gets Ahead in New Mexico!
As an educator in New Mexico for twenty plus years, I have witnessed the demise of our education system. Teachers do the best they can, but when a student can be disrespectful, disruptive, and non-compliant, there isn’t much a teacher can do about it. I believe we should go back to tracking and place students with like ability levels together. There also needs to be the creation of behavior intervention classes where all the students who refuse to comply would be together. In a class like that, the ultimate goal is compliance. Rewards, incentives, recesses, and choice time could all be used to gain compliance, and the removal of those rewards when refusals surface. We need to get back to a merit based system that doesn’t force good students to be educated right beside kids that refuse to behave. Vouchers are an excellent idea to allow parents a choice. Competition and capitalism in education would force us all to get better.