Commentary
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Building a barn takes a carpenter or a Legislature.
I was reminded recently of a quote by former U. S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn: “Any jackass can tear down a barn. It takes a carpenter to build one.â€
Diane Denish TY MCNARY PHOTOGRAPHY
In a recent Senate Rules Committee hearing on Feb. 17, Senate Joint Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Bernalillo, had its first committee hearing. This is the Early Childhood Trust Fund Constitutional Amendment. If approved by voters in the next general election, SJR 6 will mandate the fund be spent only on prenatal and early childhood programs and services that serve children until they are eligible for kindergarten.
Amidst a slew of controversial legislation in the current legislative session, including crime, revising malpractice insurance laws and paid family leave — this resolution is a sleeper that has the potential to create long-term success for future generations of children.
The Trust Fund was established in 2020 by Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, and the late Sen. John Arthur Smith. The two introduced identical bills in their respective chambers. It was House Bill 83 that was eventually passed and signed by the governor.
The initial appropriation to the fund was $300 million with a future funding structure created from excess oil and gas emergency school tax revenue. The projections for this fund’s growth were that it would reach $1 billion by 2029. But something truly remarkable happened.
Due to the explosion of oil and gas revenues and the ability to fund reserves appropriately, the trust fund has grown to $9 billion in just five years. This has allowed distributions of $450 million during the first four years.
That money has been invested in school readiness by investing in New Mexico pre-k childcare assistance, home visiting and more. Other investments include family engagement programs, tribal investments and grants, Medicaid children’s health, promotion of services and assistance for professional development.
This success has its benefits and its challenges. One of those challenges is once the funds grow beyond any expectation, legislators start to think about how to syphon the money to other projects.
The Early Childhood Trust fund is a stable and predictable source of funding to continue to scale up critical early childhood programs and services. SJR 6 would make it a permanent fund in the New Mexico Constitution and limit the fund’s use to prenatal and early childhood services — sticking to its original mission.
The resolution has an additional benefit in that many of the services provided in early childhood, including Medicaid, childcare assistance and staffing programs have a federal funding component. SJR 6 would allow New Mexico to minimize the threats to funding by the current administration in Washington. SJR 6 would require the distribution of $500 million or 5% of the 3-year average market value, whichever is greater each year to prenatal to age five services. The Legislature could appropriate the distribution to fill the gaps.
What does this have to do with building a barn? The work of the last 30 years to build a strong early childhood system has been much like building a barn. It’s taken a lot of carpenters — legislators, childcare providers, educators, business organizations and advocacy groups. Together we have, board by board, established pre-k, home visiting, professional development programs, an Early Childhood Department dedicated to prenatal to five, created accountability measures for quality and supported the growing private provider community by insuring a public/private delivery system.
Now, the barn of early childhood education and care needs a roof over its head to protect it from storms and to make sure our programs stay strong, healthy and well maintained.
As SJR 6 makes its way through the Legislature, I hope the legislative carpenters will continue to put the finishing touches on the “barn†of early childhood programs and services and secure the long-term success for generations yet to come.
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The Comment invites guest columns from readers, provided you stick to facts and aren't mean. The opinions expressed do not imply endorsement by the publisher or paper. Submit your own by emailing editor@corralescomment.com
Building a Barn
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By Diane Denish, Corner to Corner
Building a barn takes a carpenter or a Legislature.
I was reminded recently of a quote by former U. S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn: “Any jackass can tear down a barn. It takes a carpenter to build one.â€
In a recent Senate Rules Committee hearing on Feb. 17, Senate Joint Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Bernalillo, had its first committee hearing. This is the Early Childhood Trust Fund Constitutional Amendment. If approved by voters in the next general election, SJR 6 will mandate the fund be spent only on prenatal and early childhood programs and services that serve children until they are eligible for kindergarten.
Amidst a slew of controversial legislation in the current legislative session, including crime, revising malpractice insurance laws and paid family leave — this resolution is a sleeper that has the potential to create long-term success for future generations of children.
The Trust Fund was established in 2020 by Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, and the late Sen. John Arthur Smith. The two introduced identical bills in their respective chambers. It was House Bill 83 that was eventually passed and signed by the governor.
The initial appropriation to the fund was $300 million with a future funding structure created from excess oil and gas emergency school tax revenue. The projections for this fund’s growth were that it would reach $1 billion by 2029. But something truly remarkable happened.
Due to the explosion of oil and gas revenues and the ability to fund reserves appropriately, the trust fund has grown to $9 billion in just five years. This has allowed distributions of $450 million during the first four years.
That money has been invested in school readiness by investing in New Mexico pre-k childcare assistance, home visiting and more. Other investments include family engagement programs, tribal investments and grants, Medicaid children’s health, promotion of services and assistance for professional development.
This success has its benefits and its challenges. One of those challenges is once the funds grow beyond any expectation, legislators start to think about how to syphon the money to other projects.
The Early Childhood Trust fund is a stable and predictable source of funding to continue to scale up critical early childhood programs and services. SJR 6 would make it a permanent fund in the New Mexico Constitution and limit the fund’s use to prenatal and early childhood services — sticking to its original mission.
The resolution has an additional benefit in that many of the services provided in early childhood, including Medicaid, childcare assistance and staffing programs have a federal funding component. SJR 6 would allow New Mexico to minimize the threats to funding by the current administration in Washington. SJR 6 would require the distribution of $500 million or 5% of the 3-year average market value, whichever is greater each year to prenatal to age five services. The Legislature could appropriate the distribution to fill the gaps.
What does this have to do with building a barn? The work of the last 30 years to build a strong early childhood system has been much like building a barn. It’s taken a lot of carpenters — legislators, childcare providers, educators, business organizations and advocacy groups. Together we have, board by board, established pre-k, home visiting, professional development programs, an Early Childhood Department dedicated to prenatal to five, created accountability measures for quality and supported the growing private provider community by insuring a public/private delivery system.
Now, the barn of early childhood education and care needs a roof over its head to protect it from storms and to make sure our programs stay strong, healthy and well maintained.
As SJR 6 makes its way through the Legislature, I hope the legislative carpenters will continue to put the finishing touches on the “barn†of early childhood programs and services and secure the long-term success for generations yet to come.
Offered as Commentary
The Comment invites guest columns from readers, provided you stick to facts and aren't mean. The opinions expressed do not imply endorsement by the publisher or paper. Submit your own by emailing editor@corralescomment.com
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