Commentary:
With the school year already in full swing for many New Mexico students, parents face difficult questions and concerns. Can I afford private school tuition? What about a charter school instead? Am I doing the right thing by sending my child to a public school? These decisions become even more difficult when considering New Mexico’s national education ranking, which, according to the 2024 Kids Count Data Book, is last in the nation for the eighth year in a row.
That is not an isolated ranking. Despite some bright lights and success stories, New Mexico’s education system is ranked dead last in America in study after study. When it comes to improving the quality of education in New Mexico, our governor claimed we’d have a “moonshot.” In reality, New Mexico’s education system has only gotten worse. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and NM Legislature attempted to counter this in 2023 by increasing the amount of time students spend in the classroom, and the State now mandates a minimum of 1,140 hours in class. According to the Education Commission of the States, only Maryland and Texas require more. One might have believed that the classroom time discussion was resolved with the passage of these new mandates, however, that is not the case. Since 2023, the distribution of those hours, whether through an optional 4-day or mandated 5-day school week, has been the focus of legislative and legal wrangling. That’s because the Governor (even in the absence of data showing that a 5-day school week results in more learning than a 4-day week) has been pushing to impose 5-day school weeks on all New Mexico school districts.
For some schools, especially in rural areas, a 4-day school week means saving money on transportation, food, infrastructure, and salary expenses. It also allows rural districts to attract and retain teachers who might have long commutes, and save students, who can spend up to three hours a day on the bus, valuable time. Despite these counterpoints, the governor continues to push her agenda, calling any opposition a “pathetic attempt to avoid accountability for delivering a high-quality education to New Mexico students.”
It is important to remember that schools are far more likely to be more aware of local problems, limitations, and methods of success than state government. They know the wishes of their teachers, the situations of their students, and their own financial constraints much more intimately than state leadership, so they should have a valuable say in the type of school week they have. If the courts allow the governor's mandate to move forward, schools will have to divert resources that could otherwise be used to truly improve the quality of education. Some schools simply cannot afford the costs associated with an additional day; some estimates find that an extra day open for schools can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
Currently, the judge presiding over the court case has asked for a mediator, which is an interesting request considering the binary nature of the ruling. There really is no middle ground here, either the Governor can dictate policies to local school districts at her whim and without legislative authority, or elected school boards can make decisions that work best for their students and families within the context of state laws. The governor’s personal agenda seems to be getting in the way of a properly functioning legislature, and I hope that the voices of the legislators, teachers, and schools acting in opposition to a mandated 5-day school week are heard and valued.
Meaningful school reform that changes school culture and student attitude, promoted by organizations such as Opportunities for All Kids New Mexico and policy changes such as private school choice, would do much more for transforming New Mexico’s education system than a mandated 5-day school week.
Gabriel Higbie is a policy analyst at Opportunity for All Kids New Mexico (OAKNM). Gabriel Higbie's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.