“We’ve Made Too Much Progress To Turn Back The Clock On Education Reform”

Albuquerque, NM – Aerial Liese, a former elementary school special education and high school teacher in Farmington, released the following statement in support of Governor Susana Martinez’s education reforms:

“Governor Martinez is a fighter for our schools.  Under her leadership, we are now putting more money into the classroom than ever before, and at the same time, we are placing added accountability on teachers, parents and students.  We’ve made too much progress to turn back the clock on education reform.”

Governor Martinez is working hard to reform New Mexico’s school system and give children better opportunities for the future.  New Mexico now spends more money on education than ever before.  Reading and math scores are up.  Just last week, New Mexico ranked number two in the country for having the largest improvement in graduation rates.  And the state is beginning to close the achievement gap.  Recently, Hispanic students ranked number one in the country for their success in Advanced Placement courses, and New Mexico’s poor children ranked second, demonstrating that they are better prepared for higher education.

In contrast, Gary King wants to bring back the failed policies of Bill Richardson.  He supports social promotion, which passes our kids from one grade to the next even when they have not mastered the basics and cannot read.  King will take classroom control away from teachers and put it back into the hands of the special interests, union bosses who have an agenda outside our children’s education.