Education Town Hall Drives Legislative Agenda

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, February 3, 2007 -- The consensus recommendations from last spring’s New Mexico First Town Hall on Higher Education have evolved into five legislative priorities, now before the New Mexico legislature this session.

The five priorities include:

A public awareness campaign on the value of college and education in general.
A study to project future job growth in NM so students can make informed choices as to career pathways.
Alignment of high school standardized tests with college placement exams
Funding for the College Affordability Act
Support for digital learning through the IDEAL-NM project

The Town Hall on Higher Education was held in Santa Fe in April 2006. It was attended by over 200 people from throughout the state and representing a diverse group of interests. After three days of discussion and deliberation, the participants developed a set of 18 recommendations for strengthening New Mexico’s higher education system.

Those 18 recommendations were prioritized by the town hall’s “implementation team,” a group of volunteers who have met regularly since the town hall. The team is co-chaired by former Governor Garrey Carruthers and Sandia Laboratories executive Mike DeWitte.