Full Text of "Greatest Education Governor" Bill Richardson's Speech
JULY 3, 2009, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Thank you very much. Buenas tardes. Thank you for that very gracious introduction.
You know, it’s a pleasure to be back before the NEA Representative Assembly. Let’s hear it for the NEA, the premiere educational institution in this country!
You know, the last time—the last time I had the pleasure to address you, we were in Philadelphia. I was running for president, and you were deciding who you would support.
I want to thank you for that remarkable support and big hand that you gave me, even though you did endorse another candidate. But, you know, it’s okay. I understand. I have finally gotten over it. After all, it turned out for the best. Our country has a strong President in Barack Obama, and I’m still eligible to get this award.
You know, I have to say that in my many years of public service, this is honestly one of the most important awards I’ve received, because it comes from you, the NEA, an organization I greatly appreciate, whose members I so deeply admire, and you were instrumental with an endorsement in 1982 when I was a congressman that launched my political career, and I thank you for that.
And I want to thank the delegates from New Mexico who are buried somewhere right here, the best looking delegates of them all.
You know, NEA, you are the unsung heroes of our country. You are the teachers in the classroom, building America’s future every day. You are the bus drivers who get our children safely to school, and then home again. You’re the cafeteria workers who provide our students with warm breakfasts and nourishing lunches. You are the custodians who make sure when our kids show up for school in the morning they have clean classrooms ready for learning.
And the list goes on and on.
All of you contribute and are equally important, giving our children the best education possible and making America strong. So I am here to say to the NEA: Thank you, NEA, for being patriots and building America.
Our country owes you a debt of gratitude. A strong education system is the key to America’s global competitiveness, our economic future, and
the quality of life for its citizens. It is your dedication and commitment that has been a driving force in my charge to improve public education in New Mexico and in this country.
You know, when I first ran for governor some seven years ago, I promised the people of New Mexico that if elected I would be the education governor, to move beyond the tired rhetoric and effect real change. And I know many of you are obviously, because of the economy and a lot of our teachers being laid off, maybe a little down.
But I want to tell you that in New Mexico, I kept my promise, NEA, and you did it with me. You were my partners in that promise.
There is no issue as important as, no issue with as far-reaching implications as a quality educational system. It overrides the economy. It overrides Iraq. It overrides foreign policy and national security. There’s nothing more important than educational policy in America.
And so today, seven years later, I stand before you proud of everything we have accomplished in New Mexico, and I recognize we couldn’t have done it without the support of the NEA. And I thank you again.
You helped me break a gridlock that for so many years stood in the way of progress in my state.
Before I took office, there was a lot of grumbling about the state of New Mexico’s public education system. How could there not be a good education in our state, the state consistently ranking poorly on many lists? And while there was never any shortage of critics, there was a noticeable leadership vacuum at the top of state government on the issue.
Traveling throughout the state, I got a feeling of overwhelming frustration, from parents who questioned whether their children were getting the best education possible, from communities who believe the state wasn’t adequately preparing students to be successful adults, and from educators who felt they weren’t getting the important support and tools they needed, yet in return were getting the lion’s share of the blame.
There was a lot of finger pointing, a lot of blame being passed around, but no real action, something my state could no longer afford. So I entered office with a bold vision for improving New Mexico’s public education system.
In fact, many said it was too bold and too quick and that we couldn’t get it done. But as those who attested that it couldn’t be done, they didn’t know me. I don’t want to tell you how it can’t be done. I want to tell you how we made it happen.
It’s a no-excuses approach, just like you teach your students in class, when they are facing the complex problem, and it’s something we need more in this country.
In New Mexico we started by bringing all the stakeholders together—teachers, our educational partners, the unions, the business community, lawmakers, and the public. We eventually got everyone to agree on where we needed to be and what it was going to take to get there.
To sell our plan to the public and the media, together with the NEA, we visited every corner of the state, and we sat through 20 editorial boards with someone, as I said, from NEA at my side.
Together we made a case for investing in teachers, and ultimately the children of New Mexico, and it paid off.
And just that first year, we passed a constitutional amendment that won by one percent and issued the most significant education reforms in our state’s history. With NEA’s help, we passed the constitutional amendment that creates a cabinet Secretary of Education, eliminated the state school board, and replaced it with the Advisory Public Education Commission.
The new governance structure allowed us to have a hands-on approach to public education.
It was very important for me to be able to lead the direction of public education and to move quickly. We increased education spending by $600 million, extra money spent in the classroom and not on bureaucracy, for teachers, and not bureaucracy.
We reinstated collective bargaining rights to public employees, and we increased teacher pay significantly, as Dennis mentioned, while recognizing teachers as true core professionals.
We all know that education is a key. But what is most important, education is teachers. It’s teachers.
Too long our policies didn’t reflect that respect we should have had as a nation for our teachers. We weren’t giving our teachers the professional respect and compensation that they deserved. We still don’t. And we must do that in this country.
In New Mexico we changed and created a three-tiered licensure system, a career ladder, and now we are able to attract and retain the best and the brightest. Unfortunately, as a whole, our society still often takes teachers for granted. The profession continues to be one of the most thankless. In fact, right behind being a governor.
That woke you up, huh?
Seriously, though, there is no greater service than that of our teachers, and the support staff in our schools.
You inform us.
You inspire us.
You help shape the people we become.
You are NEA. And be proud of it!
And it is because of my passion for and recognition of the importance of quality education that I support teacher issues both as a congressman and now as governor, and that is why in my remaining year and a half I will remain steadfast in my support of you. And when I leave office, I want everybody to know that we did everything possible to give teachers all of the tools and support needed to teach our children.
While we did more in my first year than my predecessors did in their entire term of office, it was just the beginning.
Each year we built on the accomplishments from the year before, using the same principles that led to our earlier success. Building partnership support, engaging different interests, we instilled the spirit of cooperation that we are all in this together. We proved that we could be bold and succeed. We proved that when you dare to be great, great things can happen.
You know as well as I do that there are no silver bullets when it comes to improving student performance. In New Mexico, with the help of the NEA and other educational partners, we implemented Making Schools Work.
This comprehensive educational reform agenda took what is called “the whole child approach.” We looked at all the factors that impact the child’s learning, unlike the punitive approach of No Child Left Behind.
Don’t get me wrong—we are tough on standards and accountability. But we also support our teachers and our children, to help them be successful.
And I remember when I spoke to you two years ago, the biggest hand I got was when I said it was time to completely change No Child Left Behind.
And I say to you, my opinion hasn’t changed. But I want you to be realistic, like us, and take the steps that are needed, like implementing full-day kindergarten in this country, increasing access to quality pre-K programs, participating in school breakfast programs, and doing what we did in New Mexico:
. Get rid of all junk food in schools.
. Bring back elementary physical education.
. Increase teacher professional development.
. Expand parental involvement.
. Increase graduation requirements.
. Create state higher education departments.
. Realign our entire K-12 and higher education systems.
That’s what we need to do. And in my small state we are seeing the benefits from these investments.
Today, in New Mexico, our children are better off, our schools are improving, our teachers and support staff are better paid, and our parents believe in us again. What’s even better is that we are not finished.
I have exactly a year and a half to go, and I’m here to tell that you education will be my number one focus in the next year and a half. In the next several weeks, I plan to lay out my final education reform agenda. So stay tuned. Hold onto your hats, because once again, I’m going to be bold, but I’m going to need your support. I’m going to need your partnership.
Just like in those early days, I expect pushback. There are those who will say we can’t afford more reforms right now, that we are already spending too much on education. But just as I answered critics then, I say, we can’t afford not to.
In New Mexico, like most states, we are facing tough financial times. And they force to us make some tough choices. But I am proud to tell you that in New Mexico we have not had any furloughs, and we have not cut any of our state government workers.
It’s also important that we not balance the budget at the expense of our kids and our teachers. We implemented targeted budget cuts, got smarter with our spending, and I am pleased to tell you that our small state of New Mexico has a balanced budget that has not had to lay off a single employee.
And I know that some of your colleagues have not been as fortunate. I also know that many of you have been asked to make do with less. It’s been hard. And you have risen to the challenge, and I commend you.
I believe we are going to get through this, but this tough period is going to make us stronger. It’s going to make us more efficient with our spending, and more willing to take a really hard look at different ways to reach those kids who are still being left behind.
Let us remember we have to narrow that achievement gap. We have to do something about that tremendous dropout rate, especially from our minority kids. We have to have parental involvement that is significant.
We are doing this in New Mexico, and I know it’s a national priority of the President.
The President is asking everyone in this country to be part of the solution, to bring their best ideas to the table and be open and willing to talk to those with different points of view.
I applaud his efforts, and have great hope, because I have seen what we have been able to do in my state. But let’s not forget, No Child Left Behind must either be fixed or terminated. And that’s my promise when I became governor, and it’s still as important today.
So you are all going to be an important part of the solution. But I am simply here today with my friend Dennis and my NEA representatives to say thank you again to the NEA.
I forgive you for not endorsing me for president.
Because way, way before 1982, you gave me the crucial endorsement that made me a congressman and got me started. You went against the grain then. Could have been a sitting lieutenant governor, a judge—all the big shots. You took a chance on me, and I came across, and 14 years later I was in President Clinton’s cabinet. I had the great honor of running for president.
But I want to just say to you, to the teachers, to the support staff, to the bus drivers, the custodians, all of you that make up the NEA: You’re a great organization, and I’m here to say “thank you” to you, and to tell that you this award that you have given me is one of the greatest honors I’ve ever received.
Enjoy yourselves in San Diego. God bless you. And let’s hear it for education and the NEA.
