SENATE MEMORIAL 65

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Howie Morales

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION OF WESTERN NEW MEXICO UNIVERSITY AND THE SILVER AND COBRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TOGETHER WITH THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, TO CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY STUDY TO DETERMINE THE NEED AND RESOURCES FOR A VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL TRAINING CENTER FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE SILVER AND COBRE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

     WHEREAS, vocational-technical education is crucial to providing the strong work force training needed to fill the good-paying jobs that are vital to restoring the economic health of the nation; and

     WHEREAS, vocational-technical programs also produce strong educational returns, strengthening student engagement in school, achievement in academics and technical skills and transitions from high school to post-secondary education and from education to careers; and

     WHEREAS, the Georgetown university center on education and the workforce predicts that thirty percent of the forty-six million eight hundred thousand job openings that will be created by 2018 will require some college education or a two-year associate degree; and

     WHEREAS, the federal bureau of labor statistics projects that middle-skill jobs, which are jobs that generally require some significant education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor's degree, will account for about forty-five percent of all job openings projected through 2014; and

     WHEREAS, middle school and freshman and sophomore high school students need an academic bridge to help them prepare for dual enrollment classes in their junior and senior years; and

     WHEREAS, although the Silver and Cobre consolidated school districts in southwestern New Mexico serve more than one thousand two hundred students, due to their relative isolation, the students in those school districts have limited opportunities to explore vocational and technical opportunities; and

     WHEREAS, the establishment of a vocational-technical training center could provide the needed academic bridge for those students; and

     WHEREAS, with access to a vocational-technical training center, students in the Silver and Cobre consolidated school districts would be able to take advantage of the services and benefits that are available in other geographic regions of the state, such as along the Rio Grande corridor; and

     WHEREAS, exposure to the advantages of technical and vocational education would encourage students to stay in school and become career-ready and college-ready;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the school of education of western New Mexico university and the Silver and Cobre consolidated school districts, together with the higher education department and the public education department, be requested to conduct a feasibility study to determine the needs and options for understanding the relevance, accessibility and quality of technical-vocational career education in the Silver and Cobre school districts; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the school of education of western New Mexico university take the lead in establishing a work group to conduct the study; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work group be representative of the diversity of the community and that its members elect a chairperson to assist in providing direction and focus for the work group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include:

          A. an examination of labor market needs for long-term sustainable development;

          B. an assessment of the range of costs and benefits associated with safeguarding against wasting resources;

          C. an assessment of long-term sustainable growth and the skills needed in industries;

          D. an assessment of the status of technical and vocational educational institutions;

          E. an analysis of the construction and maintenance costs of building a new institution in the region; and

          F. the establishment of an implementation phase to analyze funding strategies to include planning phases together with long-term planning and costs for each development phase; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as the feasibility study progresses, the study group seek involvement from local stakeholders; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the dean of the school of education at western New Mexico university, the respective superintendents of the Silver and Cobre consolidated school districts and the secretaries of higher education and public education.

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