Print
Category: Local News Releases Local News Releases
Published: 17 September 2018 17 September 2018

New Mexico is listed last among the states when it comes to education. This ongoing insult to our children and disaster for our future will be the topic of the Grant County Democratic Party’s next “Third Thursday Public Forum.”

At 5 pm on Thursday, September 20 at the WNMU Miller Library, a distinguished panel of educators and political leaders will grapple with this critical challenge to our state and county in a roundtable discussion that will include public participation.

State Senator and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Dr. Howie Morales will headline the panel. Morales, who has a PhD in education and has been an educator himself, has been deeply engaged in debating education policy during the past eight years, often clashing strongly with Gov. Martinez’s reliance on testing and attempts to pin responsibility for problems on teachers and staff.

Joining Senator Morales will be Dr. Barbara Pearlman, retiree from the Truth or Consequences schools and a winner of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching; Pre-K Teacher Rosemary Peru, of the Silver Consolidated Schools; Phyllis McDonald, Lordsburg schools teacher; as well as Representative Rodolpho “Rudy” Martinez (District 39) and Karen Whitlock, candidate for District 38. Dr. Jamie Newton, of GMCR’s “Civil Discourse” program and himself a retired educator, will moderate.

Frances Vasquez, Chair of the Grant County Democratic Party, lauded the quality and mix of panelists in this forum. “We are very fortunate to have our own Howie Morales on this panel, given his total immersion in the Lujan Grisham/Morales campaign right now. Howie has been and will continue to be a fierce and expert advocate for our children. “But this entire panel is outstanding,” Vasquez continued, “We have three current or former master teachers who are passionate about their profession, plus the two Democratic candidates for State Representative for our area – Rep. Rudy Martinez and Karen Whitlock, who are deeply committed to helping our children and who will take the solutions discussed here to Santa Fe next January. I can’t think of a better group to take on the challenge of this crisis in education.”

Please note that the start for this event has been moved forward to 5:00pm accommodate those who might be attending Gila River Festival events later on. Refreshments will be served following the discussion. As usual, the forum is sponsored by: MEChA de WNMU, Miller Library, and the Grant County Democratic Party.

For more information, contact the Grant County Democratic Part at 575-654-6060, or email grantcountydemocrats@gmail.com , or see our webpage for this and more events vital to your quality of life - https://sites.google.com/site/nmcd2democraticvoices/ .

{pdf}mypdfs/Ed_forum_flyer copy.pdf{/pdf}