PED decision could mean good year for GOP

In the great red-blue divide that is America these days, we live in an atypical state. New Mexico is not as politically divided along rural and urban lines as other states.

For years now, Democrats in New Mexico have dominated politics in enough rural counties to add to their “urban” majorities in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe. Meanwhile Republicans have held a grip on other rural area and many smaller cities, with a lock in the southeastern corner of the state, a region deep in agriculture and rich in oil and gas.

Overall, however, it’s the Democrats who control state government these days — thanks in large part to its rural supporters.

That could change after a recent rule change Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is imposing on school districts.

The Public Education Department’s rule will effectively eliminate the option of four days of classroom instruction per week instead of five — and upset some 47 school districts that operate on four-day classroom schedules.

The rule change is not a popular idea at all, but the governor is pushing it forward anyway. They did add in an exemption that a district can apply for, but it’s based on reading proficiency standards that superintendents are already calling unrealistic — especially since the new rule is scheduled to take effect on July 1, just in time for the 2024-25 school year.

But this is bigger than any hassles it creates. A lot of people will see the state’s action as stripping away what little local control they already have over their own schools.

Let’s be real: The state already controls public education by controlling the purse strings. There’s some leeway here and there, but basically, local school boards and superintendents are quite limited in what they can and can’t do without state concurrence; otherwise, their funding is in danger.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing; we need a uniform set of standards and expectations for our public schools. But on this issue, the PED is overreaching. Or, more specifically, the governor is overreaching.

Expect to see the issue in court any day now. The New Mexico School Superintendents Association and others are planning to file suit, alleging that the rule violates state statute. They will first go for an injunction to delay its implementation for the 2024-25 school year, which would make a lot of school boards breathe easier in the short-term.

In the long-term, whether the rule stands or falls in court, the idea that this governor is against rural values will only be reinforced. Remember how those gun restrictions she imposed on Bernalillo County last year drew armed protests? Nobody will arm themselves over this four-day issue, but they will remember what this governor did to destroy their four-day school weeks.

Perhaps Lujan Grisham is emboldened by the fact that she won’t be running for governor again; she’ll term-limit out in 2026, so politics be damned. But what she does between now and that oh-so-distant election will matter to her successor on the Democratic ticket.

Assuming we all survive this election year, 2026 could be a good year for Republicans in New Mexico. Especially if they remind rural voters what “government overreach” looked like in 2024-25.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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