The following appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican on April 24, 2026.
I read state Rep. Raymundo Lara’s recent article in The New Mexican with disbelief (“N.M. should reject ‘education freedom’ farce,” My View, April 10). In it, Lara argues against New Mexico’s participation in a federal school choice program created by Congress that offers taxpayers a $1,700 credit for donations made to provide “school choice” but also tutoring and special education services, educational therapies, and online materials.
In other words, this is a program that costs New Mexico taxpayers nothing and will aid all schools in New Mexico: public, private and charters. As part of the federal law, governors have the final say over whether their states participate in the program or not.
Ultimately, if New Mexico does not participate in the program, the money New Mexico taxpayers set aside when they take the credit will flow to organizations in other states.
I am on the board of the Rio Grande Foundation, which has been very active in pushing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign on to the tax credit. After initially saying she would not have New Mexico participate, the governor has since insisted she’ll decide once the regulations are written. That could take some time, but ultimately, she’ll need to make a final decision before leaving office.
My view is that New Mexico kids are suffering in the worst schools in the nation. For two cycles of the Nation’s Report Card or National Assessment of Educational Progress, New Mexico students have been ranked at the very bottom in both math and reading. The status quo is not working, and the $1,700 credit would be a lifeline for New Mexico families.
Without further ado, here are a few of Lara’s lame arguments for not taking the money:
- We don’t want “a fragmented system where funding is driven by individual preference rather than student need.” Individual preference is what our society is based on. We’d argue that it is a lack of individual preference driven by institutional and political loyalties that have hindered New Mexico students for years.
- “In New Mexico, we have worked deliberately to build a funding system that prioritizes fairness.” Fairness is fine, but when it becomes access to a “one-size-fits-all” system that is clearly not working, “fairness” in failure is simply not enough.
- “They (public schools) are accountable to the communities they serve. How so?” The Yazzie v. Martinez case was decided because New Mexico’s schools were considered “inadequate.” The “solution” was to pour more money into the very schools that weren’t getting the job done in the first place.
In summary, the arguments for participating in the federal education tax credit program are much more compelling than the arguments for sitting it out.
It’s “free” money that can be used for a variety of educational purposes including traditional public schools and schools of choice. My granddaughter will be graduating from high school in May, and she said her school is inadequately funded and many needs are unmet. Our education system should be focused on the children who need to be educated, and New Mexico’s children desperately need the system to improve.
We all want fairness, but the most unfair thing would be for tax dollars generated here in New Mexico to flow to participating states like Colorado or Texas.
Let’s provide our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with the opportunity to succeed in life through a better education. This federal school choice program will do exactly that for our future New Mexico leaders. Invest in their future now.
