DAILY LOBO new mexico
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monday September 16, 2013
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Lottery problems: ‘A sad scenario’ Representatives float ideas on how to fix scholarship by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
Sensing the urgency of the Lottery Scholarship’s solvency issue, state and student officials convened at the Student Union Building to discuss possible solutions Saturday morning. The summit was organized by the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico. José Garcia, secretary of the New MexicoHigherEducationDepartment (NMHED), said in a presentation the scholarship will continue to receive a $40 million revenue stream from lottery sales. But he said that relying on those sales without additional funding from the Legislature will result in a funding shortfall of about $20 million next year, using this year’s Lottery Scholarship numbers. “What we have here is a sad scenario, which we have so far a flat revenue stream coming in,” he said. “We have rolling demand as for money for Lottery Scholarship purposes as tuition rates go up. We want a program that’s simple to administer, simple to understand and
requires some flexibility.” Garcia said that according to data from NMHED, New Mexico ranks dead last among the 50 states in terms of the “improvement of educated residents in the state.” And the scarce funding for the Lottery will not help alleviate this status, he said. “Every state in the nation did better than we do in expanding the proportion of people with a college degree,” he said. “For the first time in New Mexico history, the 2010 census tells us that the older generation in New Mexico, or people from 45 to 65, is better educated than the younger generation. There’s something really wrong with this picture.” To increase sustainability of the Lottery funding, the Legislature should find ways to better allocate the scholarship instead of cutting the amount provided to recipients, Garcia said. Garcia said one solution that lawmakers have been talking about is to increase the grade point average requirement of the scholarship. At the moment, students must have a GPA of at least 2.5 to keep the scholarship, he said. But he said that 11 percent of New Mexico higher education students have a GPA between 2.5 and 2.75, and 12 percent have a GPA between
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Rachel Toraño-Mark / Daily Lobo ASUNM Chief of Staff Taylor Bui, left, and Isaac Romero, president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, share comments about the Lottery Scholarship Summit at the SUB on Saturday morning. 2.75 and 3.0. He said increasing the GPA would take away help from these students. In a panel that followed Garcia’s presentation, UNM Parent Association Vice President Catherine Cullen said she is in favor of increasing the GPA required for the scholarship. “Serving in a school board, I agree
news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
Albuquerque’s mayoral candidates have turned their attention to higher education in the city. Incumbent Richard Berry said he worked with UNM officials during his first term to help college students. And he said he aims to continue his efforts in a possible second term. “Under my leadership, the city of Albuquerque has partnered with the University on key programs,” he said. “The University of New Mexico is a very special place to me. It’s where I graduated … It’s also where I met my beautiful wife, Maria Medina.” Berry, who graduated from Anderson School of Management with a bachelor’s degree in finance and administration, said his office partnered with the School of Architecture and Planning to establish the ABQ+UNM CityLab, a Downtown facility that opened in 2012 that allows UNM students to work on projects with the city. He said he was also required to “work very closely” with UNM President Robert Frank and with the regents for Innovate ABQ, a research
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Hopefuls agree: more jobs needed by Ardee Napolitano
Rachel Toraño-Mark
engineering (STEM) fields. But David Maestas, president of the student government of NMSU, the Associated Students of New Mexico State University, said he is completely against making the Lottery “merit-based.” “There are students who come
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Lobo setter Hannah Johnson ducks in preparation for one of her teammates’ spike at a Saturday game against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Johnson Center’s main arena. The Lobos won against the Lumberjacks, scoring 25-14 in the third set. See full story on Page 8.
that our high schools should prepare our students better before they go to college,” she said. “A lot of parents would like to see GPAs raised. We feel that a 2.5 GPA is way too low.” Cullen said the Legislature should also not limit access to the Lottery Scholarship to only students in science, technology, mathematics and
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and entrepreneurial business hub that is set to be built in Downtown. UNM plays a large role in economic development in the city, Berry said. “For every gain of 1 percent in our population who have a college degree, it is estimated that our city will benefit by over half a billion dollars per year in economic prosperity,” he said. “That’s an impressive statistic, and that is why I will continue to work with UNM to ensure that our partnerships are making a real difference.”
“High schools are a disaster in general because they are doing a poor job fulfilling their mission.” ~Paul Heh Mayoral Candidate Berry said in the future, he aims to work with state officials to ensure the sustainability of the Lottery Scholarship. He said he also aims to create more jobs for students in the city. “The creation of more highpaying jobs after graduation is also
a key factor in students’ ability to pay for college,” he said. “Through Innovate ABQ and other UNM-city partnerships, we are creating these opportunities right now.” Mayoral challenger Paul Heh said he thinks Innovate ABQ “provides a lot of specific, finely tuned opportunities for invention and entrepreneurship.” But he said that for further positive outcomes, UNM and the city should have a “brickand-mortar synergy.” Still, Heh said that under Berry’s administration, college graduates continued to leave the city after finishing college. Heh said if elected, he would work to keep college graduates in the city by providing more jobs. “I think UNM does a great job in producing fine students,” Heh said. “But we need to keep our brightest here and to do that we need opportunities that entice them to stay. I want to have unparalleled network relationships between my administration and UNM.” Heh said he will also work to improve the quality of education in high schools in Albuquerque. “High schools are a disaster in general because they are doing a poor job fulfilling their mission,” he said. “The low and nonimproving graduation rates are evidence of this statement. CNM, UNM seem to be great … but what I see and keep
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