Students in New Mexico want tuition-free college, but not if it’s funded by taxes on fracking companies.
Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in September that the state legislature was considering a proposal to provide tuition-free college to all students in 2-year and 4-year public colleges, no matter the student’s income. The program wouldn’t raise taxes on New Mexico’s families but would instead be funded by a tax on natural gas companies, which have been thriving in a statewide fracking boom.
This is problematic, in the eyes of some students.
Environmentalists don’t believe free higher education is worth the risk of allowing fracking companies to continue operating in the state. Jonathon Juarez-Alonzo, a 17-year-old student in New Mexico, even compared the proposal to a “hostage situation” in an interview with NBC.
“We’re not saying we don’t want or we don’t support free public education,” Juarez-Alonzo said. “But it’s like we’re in a hostage situation where we have to choose free public education or a livable planet in the future.”
Emese Nagy, a 15-year-old student from Albuquerque, agreed, saying, “I’ve gone to public school, and I’ve seen how bad our education is and how much funding we require. But I don’t think it’s worth it.”
In a letter to the governor, a group of Albuquerque students condemned the plan.
“Fracking companies have snatched our hopes and dreams,” they wrote. “As our Governor, you have the duty of protecting our future and the futures of thousands of kids who are already feeling the black oil dripping down their necks.”
Lujan Grisham’s office claimed it was “simply not feasible” for the state to cut ties with the oil and gas industry. Around 32% of New Mexico’s state revenue came from a tax on oil and natural gas last year, but that hasn’t convinced some that it is worth the environmental costs.
Democratic state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez agrees with the students and drafted a bill to halt fracking for four years to study its environmental impacts.
“They are ignoring health risks,” she warned.
Sedillo Lopez also warned that any lull in the oil market could hurt education if fracking taxes are funding colleges, saying, “We are in the biggest boom cycle ever, but what’s it going to be like when we are in a bust cycle? Education will probably be the first thing that gets cut.”
Several 2020 Democrats have promised tuition-free college and student loan forgiveness, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
