Getting early childhood education funding across the finish line
We know that early childhood programs have been underfunded for decades. I know I’m not alone in my frustration that New Mexico is consistently ranked last in how our state values education, and in the opportunities available to our residents to actually access or receive an education. But we have the chance in November to make change and invest in our education system by voting yes on Constitutional Amendment #1. This amendment would allocate roughly $250 million additional dollars from the state’s Permanent School Fund to public and early childhood education every year. Can you imagine $250 million dollars dedicated every year to education so that our kids and our families can thrive?
Voting yes allows us to use money from the Permanent School Fund which belongs to all the residents of New Mexico and invest it where it’s needed most. Voting yes allows us to break the cycle of poverty by removing those barriers that keep people from getting in the room. As we continue to rebound from the pandemic, approving this amendment will lay the groundwork for thousands of New Mexicans — mostly women — who left their jobs in the workforce due to COVID to get back to work. By voting yes, our most vulnerable people will have access to the education that every single New Mexican deserves. And by voting yes we are removing the systemic roadblocks that have prevented people, that have prevented New Mexicans from achieving their dreams.
The idea of investing a small percentage of money from our multi-billion-dollar Permanent School Fund has been around for a long time, but it wasn’t until 2020 that voters decided that politicians in Santa Fe needed to stop playing politics with the future of our kids and voted out legislators who were essentially blocking this opportunity for change. Your votes made a difference.
So I want to thank the voters of New Mexico for creating this opportunity. You persisted, you rallied, you organized and you opened the doors for our state to experience incredible change. Our state is experiencing amazing forward movement in policy and law and it’s because you elected people that are committed to serving New Mexicans whose voices aren’t being heard in Santa Fe. The voices of hard working people raising their families and helping to make their communities better, putting food on their tables, and are now demanding that those representing them in office — either local, state, or federal — hear their concerns and use their influence to create the change that is long overdue. We have the opportunity to get this across the finish line. So this Nov. 8 I’m voting yes for Constitutional Amendment #1 and I hope you will, too.
State Sen. Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, represents District 28
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Hamblen: Getting early childhood education funding across the finish line
