“The governor’s decision to have online learning through at least Labor Day is an affront to many working class New Mexicans who can’t stay home to monitor their children. This will be a financial burden on thousands of parents who must provide for their families. The governor, whose net worth is many times more than the average New Mexican, should also be reminded that her state is not wealthy, and many children don’t have access to computers and the internet. What happens to them? Gov. Lujan Grisham sees things through her high-income lens, but many of our kids depend on classroom computers in public schools. New Mexico is already dead last in education, and suspending critical in-person schooling will further destroy our embarrassing educational system. All this could be avoided if students went to school and safely practiced social distancing. It makes no sense for New Mexicans to be allowed to cram into Targets and Walmarts and not have a sensible, safe, social distancing policy to educate our precious kids. Our Chief Executive is defying logic and dividing students into two different types of classes.”
The following is RPNM Chairman Steve Pearce’s statement regarding Gov. Lujan Grisham’s press conference on school re-entry plans amid the COVID-19 crisis:
