Haaland unveils education plan, wins teachers union endorsement

Deb Haaland can add the teachers union to her list of endorsements.

Haaland, one of three Democrats vying for the nomination in New Mexico’s gubernatorial race later this year, announced on Wednesday her plan to repair the state’s public education system at her alma mater, Highland High School.

Haaland was flanked by the local leadership of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 25,000 educators and health care workers across the state. The union gave her its endorsement by day's end.

“A Haaland administration will demonstrate the possibility of organized labor and state government working together to achieve our shared goals for high-quality public education,” said Whitney Holland, president of AFT’s New Mexico chapter.

Haaland, who served as the U.S. secretary of the interior under former President Joe Biden, said Wednesday part of her education plan is to teach children to read earlier through coaches and bilingual education, and to provide more opportunities for teachers to take their classes outdoors.

“If our kids learn to read early, they are more likely to be successful, and it means they'll be curious and ready to learn. But we also have to inspire them,” Haaland said. “We need to get creative about engaging our students by showing them life outside the classroom.”

Haaland said she planned to improve support for families by putting doctors and dentists at schools, and ensuring each student has reliable internet. If elected, Haaland said she will “double down” on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s universal child care policy. Her plan also includes remodeling school facilities through the state’s Public School Capital Outlay Fund.

To prepare students for life after graduation, Haaland said she would grow New Mexico’s free-tuition college scholarships and add more college-credit programs for high school students.

For students who choose not to attend college, Haaland said she wanted to expand vocational training beginning in middle school through high school.

“Not every student wants a four-year college degree, and we must have opportunities for every single student,” she said.

For all of this to happen, Haaland said, New Mexico needs to support its teachers via pay raises and better compensation packages. She proposed entering the interstate educator compacts so teachers with licenses from other states can teach in New Mexico, similar to a series of bills to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session that seek to do the same for doctors and other health care workers.

“We would be nowhere without our educators,” Haaland said. “The truth is we don't have enough of them coming into or staying in New Mexico.”

Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque teachers union, said Wednesday she was throwing her support behind Haaland because she felt the former congresswoman would take teacher feedback into account when implementing education policy.

“So often in my long tenure in public school, I’ve seen policies that are a real mismatch with practice, that don’t work,” Bernstein said. “The realities of the classroom are not what people remember from when they went to school, and it's imperative that she ground moving forward in the realities of our schools and our families.”

Haaland served in Congress as the representative for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District from 2019 to 2021. She’s secured endorsements from many officials in local, state and tribal government, as well as U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury.

Haaland’s perceived main challenger for the Democratic nomination, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, said through a spokesperson that he was "glad to see that the Haaland campaign has agreed with a number of our policy ideas on how to improve education."

Joanie Griffin, spokesperson for Bregman's campaign, in a statement pointed out the state's dismal ranking nationwide for education and said Haaland's plan had no cost estimates, timelines or benchmarks. Many items on a bulleted plan for education shared on Bregman's campaign website also do not include estimates or benchmarks, although some of the initiatives do.

"It’s unclear who is responsible if these ideas fail or how progress would be tracked," the statement from Bregman's campaign said. "New Mexico needs real reform with real accountability, not just the status quo and not another wish list repeating strategies we’ve already tried without success."

Journal News Editor Matthew Reisen contributed to this report.