WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today reported that the U.S. Department of Education has released $64.9 million to help close New Mexico's budget gap, and keep approximately 1,000 teachers in classrooms around the state.
"Nothing is more important to a child's education than having good teachers in the classroom. When teachers are fired, classroom sizes increase, other teachers are overloaded, and students are forced to try to learn in challenging environments," Bingaman said. "New Mexico's students will benefit greatly from this nearly $65 million boost to New Mexico schools."
"You can't put a price on educating our children. By making sure we keep teachers in their classrooms instead of unemployment lines, we are ensuring the foundation of our future economic vitality," Udall said. "Keeping our educators at work, where they serve our state best, is a top priority and this funding will do just that."
The funding was approved by Congress last month.
