Morning Word: PAC targeting SoS race

Like previous reading-intervention bills, this one calls for third-graders to be held back if they are not reading at grade level. But no students would be held back before the 2016 school year to give intervention policies, which would begin next year, a chance to have an impact.

Public Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera unveiled the plan Thursday before the Legislative Education Study Committee. Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, introduced the draft bill, titled “Academic Success Through Remediation Act,” on Skandera’s behalf. Kernan and Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces, are backing the bill, Kernan and Skandera said.

Although parents can already legally request such waivers, Keller’s proposal would prevent the request from affecting a student’s ability to participate in sports or other activities, move up in grade level and graduate, among other things.

“Right now, we’re looking at an environment where students are just test-taking machines,” said Keller, who added that his proposal is based on similar Texas legislation.

“Ballots are still coming in, but when we cut the count, 199 teachers responded out of a possible 298,” he said. “Of those 199, that responded 96.9 percent of those who responded said ‘yes,’ please send the letter to Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera.”

Schmidt added that 199 out of 298 meant that 66 percent of the teachers in the system responded, “which is a very good number,” he said to the board.

At yesterday's Legislative Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, perked up everyone's ears when he accused the state Human Services Department of "skulduggery."

“I’m more confused, baffled and bamboozled today more than any time in the past several months. This is the greatest extent of skulduggery I’ve witnessed in decades.”

The Supreme Court should take up the case as Texas wants but also adopt a procedural approach that gives New Mexico a chance to quickly get decisions on key issues and try to get the case dismissed, the office urged.

Texas contends that groundwater pumping in southern New Mexico means Texas water users are being deprived of Rio Grande water, while New Mexico argues that Texas is getting what's required under a compact between the states and that the Supreme Court should let other courts consider the dispute.

An audit found the city could save millions of dollars by updating their phone system. It is something other cities have already done. Chief Information Officer for the city of Albuquerque, Peter Ambs, says it's a one-time cost of up to $20 million dollars, but he says the switch will pay for itself in a few years.

Udall and Heinrich said establishing the area as a monument would help conservation efforts and boost economic development for the border region by putting the mountain peaks on recreational maps around the world.

Some concerns have been raised over the years about whether law enforcement would have flexibility in accessing protected areas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Charles Lakins, an attorney for the Malt Shop, argued in District Court on Thursday that the wage ordinance is invalid because it was presented to voters as one question, even though it had several components that voters should have been allowed to decide separately.

The city argued otherwise, noting that the Supreme Court had ordered the ordinance onto the ballot last year.

Started a new job with KUNM News as the web author for their public health reporting project. Great first day. Looking forward to 2014!

— Marisa Demarco (@papermarisa) December 12, 2013

He’s planning an industrial-grade garnet mining operation there, which Albuquerque Business First reported this morning. The project will take some time to evolve. But once Burrell Western Resources eventually loads chunks of garnet from the mine to a processing facility and beyond, investment will be significant. Burrell expects the main mining operation to be online by 2015.