SANTA FE – Today, the Senate overwhelmingly approved two measures aimed at creating jobs and opportunities through increased broadband access and increased internet speed across the state.

Currently, New Mexico internet connection speed ranks 48^th in the nation and is similar to the average connection speed of Iraq and Molodova. According to  Federal Communication Commission study, even a 7 percent increase in broadband adoption could create an estimated 15,000 jobs to New Mexico.

Senate Bill 24 sponsored by Senator Michael Padilla, which passed the Senate by a vote of 37-2, would streamline current statute to facilitate local government investment in broadband infrastructure.

“As long as internet speed across New Mexico trail the rest of the nation, we will continue to miss out on high-paying jobs for our state,” said Senator Michael Padilla. “Helping local governments provide their communities with the connectivity needed to compete must continue to be a priority.”

Senate Bill 338 sponsored by Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto and Representative Jim Smith, which passed the Senate by a vote of 32-1, would create a statewide broadband network and make it more attractive for providers to invest in broadband infrastructure by combining demand for internet access among public and educational institutions. Lack of demand is the biggest inhibitor to broadband investment in underserved and rural communities across New Mexico.

“Today’s bipartisan passage signals an understanding that broadband access is a critical component to New Mexico’s economic success,” said Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto. “By creating a blueprint for how we can connect every New Mexican to high-speed internet we will be making a huge investment in our future.”

“Investing in our state’s broadband infrastructure is an important step toward ensuring our state’s economic recovery,” said Representative Jim Smith. “Taking these simple steps will help attract investment to underserved communities.”

Both Senate Bill 24 and Senate Bill 338 will now be considered by the House of Representatives. By Victor Reyes, NMSD

SANTA FE – With solid bipartisan support, the Senate today passed by a vote of 29 – 11 legislation that strongly reforms New Mexico’s medical cannabis laws for the first time in ten years.  The bill was sponsored by Senator Cisco McSorley (D-16-Bernalillo), who also was the sponsor of the original medical cannabis law in New Mexico.  Last-minute changes to SB 177 were made on the Senate floor including requiring that veterans be diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition to enroll in the program, like any other patient or applicant, and mandating that patient renewals occur annually, albeit in a streamlined fashion thereafter.

“I am proud of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the Senate for passing this bill to lighten the regulatory burden on patients, many of whom are facing life-or-death situations daily.  It is compassionate, patient-focused legislation. It contains strong checks and balances. We listened carefully to patients across our state, and to our constituents.  This legislation will lead to more people getting access to medical cannabis treatment in New Mexico, which has proven to be extremely successful,” said Sen. McSorley.

Changes to the state’s medical cannabis rules under the McSorley bill include:

• Allows patients to have 5 ounces of medical cannabis.
• Cannabis producers are permitted to grow as many as 450 plants, and that will not change until the number of patients increases.
• Puts into statute all existing, qualifying medical conditions for the program currently listed in state Health Department regulations.
• Adds the term “substance abuse disorder” for those undergoing treatment for addiction. Cannabis has been proven effective in treating opioid, methamphetamine and alcohol addiction.

Changes to New Mexico’s medical cannabis laws contained in SB 177 are the result of listening to hundreds of patients over the past months, the latest medical research, and surveys of current best practices in other states and internationally.  The bill addresses many of the key issues patients raised.

There are approximately 30,000 patients using medical cannabis in the state.  Based on other states’ statutes and experiences, New Mexico probably should have approximately 60,000 patients.  SB 177’s reforms will allow that to occur.  The state’s groundbreaking 2007 medical cannabis law was one of the first such laws passed in in the Unites States.  SB 177 is endorsed by the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

SB 177 will be taken up next by the House of Representatives.

GMCS gets a chance to shine

The annual graduation rate at Gallup-McKinley County Schools went down one percentage point in 2016, but remained steady with rates in the mid-60s for 2015 and 2014, state Public Education Department statistics show. The district-wide graduation rates for elementary, middle and high schools in New Mexico were released Jan. 16.

Gov. Susana Martinez issued a news release on the state’s graduation rates on Jan. 16. In the release, Martinez noted that more students are graduating from state high schools than ever before. Graduation rates increased for Native-American, Hispanic, African-American, low-income and disabled students, according to the governor’s statistics.

GALLUP SCHOOLS

Officials at the Gallup-McKinley County School District have been very busy over the years, working to improve teacher quality and in getting parents more involved in student education. The Gallup district tracks ninth-graders who graduate within four years and accounts for transfers and students who are held back.

Gallup area schools’ graduation rate remains lower than the statewide rate of 71 percent, which is up from 69 percent in 2015. There are 89 school districts in New Mexico.

“Although there are significant improvements in our academic system, we are not satisfied with our district’s current graduation rates,” Interim Superintendent Mike Hyatt said of the current GMCS graduation rates. Hyatt was appointed to the superintendent’s job about a month ago and after the Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education firing of Frank Chiapetti. “We do, however, expect our graduation rates to increase as students are taught with appropriate and higher expectations, have more experience with rigorous state testing, and work in an overall improved system of education at GMCS. For those current students who have not graduated or who are not at grade level, we have increased our credit recovery opportunities and are continuously working on improving the education system as a whole to better meet their individual academic needs.”

In 2013 the Gallup district’s graduation rate was 71.3 percent and the highest it has been since a low of 52.8 in 2008. The rate was 64.9 in 2014, 66.6 in 2015 and sits at a straight 65 percent for 2016. The Gallup school system is consistency ranked in the lower statewide percentile with respect to performance.

The graduation numbers don’t really come as a surprise to at least one school board member. Lynn Huenemann, who chose not to run again Feb. 7 for another school board term, said, “Just looking at the numbers on the surface I think it represents something good,” Huenemann said. “I think we still have to keep our focus on progress. I’m not dismissing what has been accomplished.”

Martinez was pleased at the news conference which she announced with state Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera by her side. The news conference took place at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

“With more students graduating high school than ever before, New Mexico is better preparing our kids to enter the work force than ever before,” Martinez said. “When we raise the bar and give our kids the resources they need to succeed, they rise to the occasion. We still have a lot of work to do and it starts by protecting classroom spending and stopping the failed practice of passing our kids from grade to grade when they cannot read.”

* not reported

These students graduated on time in 4 years

Compiled from NMPED - Graduation - Data and Statistics

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

Official: Certification Feb. 10

Michael Schaaf, Charles Long and Christopher Mortensen were elected to seats on the Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education Feb. 7, bringing fresh faces and new ideas to a board that recently put former Superintendent Frank Chiapetti on paid administrative leave.

The board seats that were voted upon were for Districts 2, 4 and 5. Lynn Huenemann, Joe Menini and the seat occupied by the appointed Sandra Jeff each changed hands. Schaaf essentially had no competition in a race that included retired educator Ester Macias and retired government administrator Gerald O’Hara.

WHO WON?

Charles Long, a former McKinley County Treasurer, won the District 2 board seat occupied by Jeff. Jeff, who did not attend a recent school board candidate forum sponsored by the Gallup Sun, the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation and Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce, was appointed to the seat last year when Titus Nez resigned from the school board. Long received 352 votes and Freda Joe, a Crownpoint educator, got 136. Jeff brought up the rear with 107 votes and was typecast in media reports as not being a resident of greater McKinley County.

In District 4, Christopher Mortensen received 388 votes to 276 for Brenda Chicharello. Chicharello is vice president of the school district’s Indian Education Committee. Mortensen is a local businessman, a Gallup High School graduate and a University of New Mexico graduate, too. The District 4 seat was vacated by Joe Menini who chose not to run again.

Schaaf, a newcomer to area politics, ran away fast in the District 5 race, garnering 770 votes to 217 for Macias and 109 for O’Hara. Of the three districts that were up for grabs, Schaaf won with the widest point margin. Schaaf is a Nebraska transplant who unsuccessfully ran for a city council seat against Allan Landavazo in the recent past.

Like Menini, the pro-Navajo Huenemann decided to not run again.

Members of the Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education serve voluntary four-year staggered terms.

PUEBLO OF ZUNI

Also on Tuesday’s ballot were board seats for Districts 3, 4 and 5 in the Pueblo of Zuni. Jerome Haskie won District 3, Shelly Chimoni won District 4 and Willie Zuni ran as a write-in candidate for Position 5 in Zuni and won with 55 unofficial votes.

UNM-GALLUP

For seats on the Local Advisory Board at the University of New Mexico-Gallup, incumbent Priscilla Smith beat Edwin Begay by a margin of 1,721 to 1,120. Incumbent Ralph Richards, a Republican, won over Marvin Murphy 2,006 to 931 in a landslide for the UNM-Gallup Position 2 seat.

A $25 million bond question dealing with school-wide improvements, hardware and software purchases, among other things, passed 2,206 to 657. A UNM-Gallup tax question that focused on capital improvements passed 1,868 to 1,118.

McKinley County Director of Elections Rick Palochak, said a total of 3,216 registered voters participated in Tuesday’s elections. He said everything went well with the county’s voting machines.

“We had two poll workers who did not show,” Palochak said. “There were no problems with any of the machines.”

Palochak said the final election numbers could change since there are some provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. Palochak said the change, if any, would not be that great since winning margins across the board were pretty substantial.

He said certification takes place Feb. 10 at 1:30 pm and before Magistrate Judge Cynthia Sanders.

“I voted for the first time in my life,” Donna Johns, 25, of Gallup said. Johns is a graduate of Gallup High School. “My vote counts and that’s why I voted.”

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent