Poorer Students Lost in Rush to Create Mesa del Sol Charter
By Moises Venegas
Quinto Sol
Americans the last 20 years have raised an increasingly louder voice for school choice. They have used terms like vouchers, student options, charter schools and private schools.
Much of this has been driven because employers want better educated workers and we all want our children to be able to compete for good jobs.
But really, as individuals many of us have always had school choice.
If one has the money, school choice is as easy as spending $10,000 to $16,000 for a year's education at St. Pius or Albuquerque Academy. You say you don't want to spend your money on private schools because they are elitist and run counter to your sense of democracy and equality?
You may not have to. The choice also can be as basic as buying a home in North Academy Acres or Sandia Heights versus buying Downtown.
There, the houses are cheaper and the faces are different. So are the schools.
The Journal pointed out some dismal scores in its March 29 editorial that showed 82 percent of sixth graders at Washington Middle School were not proficient in reading. Not proficient in math? A staggering 93 percent.
Similar scores are found at Albuquerque High, Lowell Elementary and East San Jose Elementary.
In Albuquerque, it seems, we'll also soon provide choice to those who can afford to move into areas where the city has focused its economic development efforts.
Here's the plan for Mesa del Sol: Do not integrate, but separate; create an excellent school district for those who will be living there.
Such a move should not be difficult, just follow the steps Rio Rancho took a few years back. There was a friendly divorce from Albuquerque Public Schools along with financial incentives from Sandoval County, the state and Intel.
Unlike Rio Rancho, which formed its own traditional school district, Mesa del Sol seems to be proposing a charter school district.
With a charter district the state Public Education Department will pay under the current funding formula about $5,400 per student per year. For a school district expected to eventually reach 15,000 students, New Mexico taxpayers would pay $81 million annually. The cost is based on 37,500 homes and a population of 100,000.
The city of Albuquerque is providing $130 million in tax incentives to Forest City Covington for development of Mesa del Sol.
How does Mesa del Sol developer Forest City Covington plan to create a quality, high-achieving school district within a district? If you'd like an indication, visit their school district in Denver's old Stapleton Airport area or Google "stapleton airport and forest city schools."
At Mesa del Sol, the two most important indicators of school success are already planned.
One is the choice to develop a separate charter district. The other is to build a master-planned community with a mix of homes from affordable to high-end, so the student population would likely resemble those at Sandia and Eldorado high schools.
In the final analysis, should we support the state and local incentives for Forest City Covington at Mesa del Sol? Yes, we should. We want the development of high-paying jobs and high-performing schools in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
But at the same time, we would like Albuquerque and APS to focus on the 35,000 students who may not be at the proficient level in math and science. We should plan for high-quality education for all our students, current and future.
If we improve education for all our students, we will not have to create separate new districts to attract employers who offer high-skilled and high-paying jobs.
But even in the present, we no longer have a choice when 65 percent of our student population is Hispanic or minority. As we build Mesa del Sol, let us not forget those students along the Central Avenue Corridor and in the South Valley.
Moises Venegas is executive director of Quinto Sol, a community development and research organization.
opinion 
...go to bookmarks
E-mail Story
Print Friendly
