OPINION: End to forest revenue sharing created crisis for rural schools

Each year, thousands of New Mexicans from across the state head west for what we all cherish: the cool shade of ponderosa pine, the thrill of spotting an elk herd, the solitude of a wilderness hike. The Gila and surrounding national forests are some of the most treasured lands in our state. They belong to all of us. But the rural communities who live with and care for these lands year-round are now facing an increasingly urgent crisis — the collapse of federal forest revenue sharing, a program known as Secure Rural Schools.

Congress created the SRS over two decades ago to make up for lost timber revenues that once helped fund rural schools and counties where national forests dominate the landscape and limit the local tax base. In short: Communities surrounded by public land do not have the benefit of property taxes to maintain schools, roads, or emergency services at the same level as other areas; the SRS was meant to balance that deficit, and 22 counties in New Mexico have received funds for their schools and roads from the program.

But last year, Congress let the program expire. The result has been catastrophic cuts this year for public schools and local infrastructure in places like west-central New Mexico — places where children still ride a school bus 90 minutes each way, where community members often plow forest roads themselves, and where emergency services are spread thin across hundreds of miles.

As a state, New Mexico is receiving only approximately 10% of what we received last year. Our rural district received over $460,000 through the program last year and got just over $20,000 this year. Roads were also hit hard — a loss of over a million dollars in our area alone. That’s not a budget cut — it’s a budget cliff. The consequences are already real for students, families and our school team. We are making critical decisions about which supplies we can no longer afford, which maintenance projects will have to wait another year or longer, and which programs for students must be cut.

If you live in Albuquerque, Las Cruces or Santa Fe, the Gila may feel far away, but Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Sierra counties that are closer to home or home to you, are among the 22 also receiving cuts.

The solution is simple: Congress must reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program and make it permanent. This isn’t a partisan issue, and in fact, it wasn’t even voted down last year. It simply wasn’t voted on by the House at all. That lack of action is not just impacting communities in New Mexico; it’s impacting communities like ours nationwide, rural communities that should have the ability to remain whole while preserving access and services for everyone who values public lands.

You can help. Contact Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Urge them to prioritize reauthorizing Secure Rural Schools for fiscal year 2025/2026 and beyond. Bipartisan legislation is already drafted. It just needs to be passed.