Thursday, December 08, 2011
Proposals supported by the governor and state lawmakers strongly favored among voters
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — New Mexico voters decidedly favor policies that would provide parents greater access to private schooling options for their children, according to a poll released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (Hispanic CREO).
This year, the New Mexico state legislature considered legislation to offer individuals and corporations tax credits for donating to nonprofits that distribute private school scholarships. That idea, also promoted by Gov. Susana Martinez, was supported by 62 percent of surveyed voters in New Mexico.
Moreover, a tax credit program providing special needs students with private school scholarships was supported by 78 percent of New Mexico voters polled.
“The people of New Mexico, especially those less fortunate, deserve choices in education,” Julio Fuentes, president and CEO of Hispanic CREO, which works to empower Latino families through parental choice in education. “Providing school choice tax credits can give New Mexico children of all demographics greater access to better schooling options.”
The “New Mexico K-12 & School Choice Survey”—co-released with the New Mexico-based Rio Grande Foundation and the national Alliance for School Choice—also found 65 percent of New Mexico voters rating their public school system as “Fair/Poor” compared with only 32 percent rating it as “Good/Excellent.”
“New Mexico parents not satisfied with their children’s public schools could be empowered by the state to choose better, more effective private options,” Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, said. “State leaders should not allow more children to fall behind when clearly their parents are engaged in their education and interested in giving them a better future.”
To see a summary of survey results and a description of the methodology, visit http://www.EdChoice.org/NM-Survey.
About the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, solely dedicated to advancing Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of school choice for all children. First established as the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation in 1996, the Foundation continues to promote school choice as the most effective and equitable way to improve the quality of K-12 education in America. The Foundation is dedicated to research, education, and outreach on the vital issues and implications related to choice and competition in K-12 education.
