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Heinrich roundtable with Rio Rancho educators centers on DOE cuts
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RIO RANCHO — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich spoke with local educators at RioTECH High School April 16 to gauge their thoughts on education as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to roll back initiatives Rio Rancho Public School students rely on.
Heinrich, who this year entered his third term as the state’s senior U.S. senator, visited the school — anticipating a grand opening April 23 — as part of his swing through the Albuquerque area.
“I just never experienced a moment when the level of hostility of an administration to not only the U.S. Department of Education, but also to public education, has looked like what we’re going through right now,” Heinrich said during the roundtable discussion. “I really wanted to have this conversation with all of you so I can take those stories back to ... Washington, D.C.”
Joining Heinrich were Rio Rancho Schools Employee Union President Billie Helean, Cleveland High School world history and advanced placement teacher Katharine Mitchel, Rio Rancho Middle School sixth-grade world history teacher Bill Blanchard, Ernest Stapleton second-grade teacher Briana Sison, Stapleton special education teacher Lauren Smith and Lincoln Middle School robotics teacher Paula Blagrave.
Their conversation came as Heinrich spars with Trump over his efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which is a campaign promise from the president that is being challenged in court and the senior senator has publicly opposed. For his part, Heinrich has introduced resolutions and legislation in Congress to counter Trump’s education agenda, but it has a long way to go before it gets to the president’s desk, if ever.
A few educators present at the roundtable brought up the uncertainty they feel as teachers during Trump’s administration.
“When you have a president that’s taking delight in eliminating that (department) as if it was just some evil edifice, it blows my mind,” Blanchard said.
Heinrich responded that he worries about what message will be sent to prospective teachers when they read about the dismantling of the education department.
“People are going to internalize that and say, ‘I don’t want to be a teacher; teachers aren’t respected,’” the senator said.
Sison said one of her biggest concerns had to do with Title I funds, which is federal money aimed at supporting low-income students. She noticed an increase in the number of students eating free breakfast.
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“They have much more energy,” Sison said. “You think about three years ago, the kids were just coming off of COVID-19; they’re tired, they’re groggy, they don’t care. Now, they’re balls of energy in the morning. That’s what you want. That’s heartbreaking to think we could take funding (in areas where) they can digress.”
Though he did not mention it in response to Sison’s comment, Heinrich has sponsored the Keep Our Promise to America’s Children and Teachers (PACT) Act to ensure Title I funding. The legislation was referred to committee, where it stands today, according to Congress’s bill tracking website.
Blagrave told the senator that her family moved to Rio Rancho for the services the public schools provide. She teaches students that need a range of support, augmented by an educational assistant. Blagrave worried that if federal funding is pulled, so will those assistants.
“That equity piece is right there with my elective; I can’t give them that experience if they don’t have the help they need. I can’t be with them the entire time,” Blagrave said.
Blagrave, who did her student teaching with Blanchard, said in an interview following the roundtable that while she believes Heinrich is sincere in his support of education, she thought the senator could have been more assertive and less reserved in his comments on the subject.
“I think it does give us a little trepidation,” Blagrave said. “I didn’t think he was fumbling, but even he is unsure of what he can do.”
But she believes Heinrich is “on the right track” by talking to educators in the community.
The senator said in an interview following the roundtable that he schedules a number of events like the one at RioTECH to hear from people who are “in the trenches” and impacted by decisions made in the nation’s capital.
“Right now, it’s a disservice to the kids in public education that it is as chaotic and frustrating as what we’re experiencing right now,” Blagrave said.
Helean has been leading protests against the order to close the DOE on a bi-weekly basis and intends to keep holding them on the corner of Southern Boulevard and NM 528 in Rio Rancho.
Additionally, RRPS and Bernalillo Public Schools reacted to the order last month.
