We’ll Have What Florida’s Having: Why Poor Hispanic Kids in Florida are Beating New Mexico Kids

Tue, 2010-06-29 22:00 — pgessing

On July 28, 29, and 30, the Rio Grande Foundation is hosting a series of lunch discussions on education policy with Dr. Matthew Ladner of the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute. Ladner is an expert on K-12 education policy and has extensively researched the successful, market-based reforms adopted in Florida under Jeb Bush.

These reforms have led to dramatic improvement in results on the respected National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test across the board, but with quite striking improvement by Hispanic and minority students as seen in the chart below.

Success for N.M. Minority Students Lies With Adults

Mon, 2010-07-19 09:08 — pgessing

Is demography destiny?

If so, say some experts, states with growing Hispanic populations seem doomed to fail, weighed down with ineffective school systems and abysmal test scores.

One academic recently predicted states like New Mexico will become the "Appalachia of the 21st Century." He based his prediction on well-known statistics concerning the dropout and low achievement scores of Hispanic students. Nationwide, Hispanics drop out of high school at appalling rates. When they do graduate, they have achievement test scores roughly equivalent on average to eighth grade Anglo students.

Putting City Spending Under the Microscope

Fri, 2010-07-16 12:08 — pgessing

I was recently interviewed by Jeremy Jojola of Channel 4 about some purchases made by the city recently. While we at the Rio Grande Foundation are always concerned about government spending, Jojola's findings were relatively small within the context of the overall city budget, the fight with public employees, and the potential for tax hikes to fund a convention center expansion. Check out the interview here:

Las Cruces gross receipts tax is on the rise

Tue, 2010-07-13 16:13 — pgessing

 

In case you missed it, as of July 1, the gross receipts tax (GRT) in Las Cruces rose to 7.5625%. This is due to the statewide .125 or 1/8 percent increase passed by the Legislature earlier this year to help close the state's budget deficit.
 
But, while the recent .125 percent hike may seem innocuous enough (it's only a fraction of a penny after all!), over time Las Cruces' GRT has risen rapidly and become increasingly onerous. In fact, back in 1999, the GRT rate in Las Cruces was a relatively modest 6.375 percent. That rate now stands at 7.5625 percent, an increase of 18.6 percent in just over 10 years. The GRT rate in Las Cruces seems more likely to hit 8 percent in the near future than being reduced back towards 7 percent.

Gross Receipts Tax Hampers State Businesses

Thu, 2010-07-08 22:12 — pgessing

In case you missed it, Clovis’ gross receipts tax rose to 7.5625 percent on July 1.

This is due to the statewide .125 percent increase passed by the Legislature earlier this year to help close the state’s budget deficit.

While the hike may seem innocuous enough (it’s only a fraction of a penny after all!), don’t forget it was 6.1875 percent in 1999; that’s a 22 percent increase in just over a decade.

Lights of Liberty Award Interviews

Tue, 2010-06-29 16:33 — pgessing

Last Friday, the Rio Grande Foundation honored two legislators and the Albuquerque Tea Party for their efforts on behalf of liberty and individual freedom in New Mexico during the past year. Recipients were Sen. Tim Keller for his work in reforming the State Investment Council, Sen. Sander Rue for helping to create the Sunshine Portal website (not online yet) which will dramatically improve government transparency, and Tina Carson and the Board of the Albuquerque Tea Party. We sat down with each of the award winners and briefly interviewed them about their efforts.

Sen. Keller's interview is here:

Sen. Rue's interview is here:

Tina Carson's interview is here:

Deroy Murdock's "Lights of Liberty" Speech and Presentation Now Available

Tue, 2010-06-29 16:31 — pgessing

At the Rio Grande Foundation's recent "Lights of Liberty" luncheon, syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock was the keynote speaker. His presentation can be found below:

Murdock's powerpoint slides from the luncheon are available here.

The Rio Grande Foundation's Higher Education Study Hits Channel 13!

Mon, 2010-06-21 21:37 — pgessing

In case you missed Friday's 10PM newscast, the RGF's new study on higher education was the basis for a story on KRQE Channel 13. You can watch the full story here:

Syndicate content