Voters in New Mexico gave higher education in the state a funding boost for brick-and-mortar projects with the decisive approval of GO Bond 3 in the Nov. 5 general election.
GO Bond 3, a statewide $230 million bond, will fund more than 40 projects at New Mexico’s colleges, universities and specialty schools. According to unofficial results, the bond passed with 66 percent of the vote.
With a solid margin, Bernalillo County voters also passed the continuance of a mill levy to support maintenance and operations at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Making up about 10% of the hospital’s revenue, funds from the mill levy assist with paying for extra costs associated with being New Mexico’s largest teaching hospital, only Level-I Trauma Center and only dedicated children’s hospital.
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO Terri Cole and Del Archuleta co-chaired the fundraising effort for the hospital mill levy, which helped educate voters on the many important things it is used for. “Del Archuleta did a tremendous job and provided wonderful leadership to the effort,” Cole shared.
Open 24/7/365, operating and maintaining the facility takes effort across all kinds of services, such as providing food services to patients, keeping patient records and other software applications secure and up to date, maintaining cybersecurity, providing security to keep staff and patients safe, and providing 24/7 interpreter services in more than 200 languages.
“We are so grateful to the voters in Bernalillo County who continue to put their trust and investment in UNM Hospital,” said Kate Becker, UNM Hospital CEO. “Support for our hospital is a direct investment into the health and well-being of our community. With the community’s support, we can push our mission forward to expand access to medical and behavioral health care in Bernalillo County and beyond.”
On Sept. 8, Del Esparza, chairman of the board of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and Terri Cole, GACC president and CEO, wrote an op-ed published in The Sunday Journal supporting the UNMH mill levy.
The Chamber leaders explained they and other business leaders understand the vital role a robust health care system plays in attracting, and retaining, quality employees and businesses in our community.
Esparza and Cole said the funding will help enable UNMH to continue to provide its unparalleled high-quality health care, including:
- New Mexico’s only Level 1 Trauma Center — which are facilities that are lifelines for New Mexicans and our workforce.
- New Mexico’s only dedicated pediatric hospital — UNM Children’s Hospital treats thousands of our children every year. The hospital’s cutting-edge technology and specialized care are strong motivators for families moving to, and staying in, New Mexico.
- A teaching hospital — As the only academic health center in New Mexico, UNMH cares for patients with the most complex health needs in the Southwest — regardless of a family’s ability to pay. It is the primary teaching hospital for the UNM School of Medicine, which means providers and their patients are on the cutting edge of medical research, technology, clinical trials and specialty patient care.
- The state’s only NCI-designated cancer treatment center — The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center is nationally recognized for breakthrough research in genomics, leukemia, nanotechnology, radioisotopes and drug discovery.
Additionally, the passage of GO Bond 3 will create more than 2,300 new jobs in architecture, construction, education and related fields and contribute to the economies of 29 cities in 23 counties across New Mexico. The economic impact of GO Bond 3 is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars, affecting businesses large and small in every corner of the state.
At the University of New Mexico, GO Bond 3 will provide over $94.5 million for six projects, including $52 million for a new Humanities and Social Sciences building and $35 million for a renovation of the College of Pharmacy building.
Additional UNM branch campus projects include $4 million for UNM-Gallup and the renovation of Gurley Hall, $1.5 million for UNM-Taos and its Science and Space Education facility, $1 million for UNM-Los Alamos to plan, construct, renovate and equip campus facilities and infrastructure and $1 million for UNM-Valencia for Phase I and its Nursing and Health Sciences redesign.
“The approval of these general obligation bonds will have a transformative effect on our institution and on our state. From a new Humanities and Social Sciences complex and upgrades to our College of Pharmacy, to improvements at our branch campuses, these new investments ensure that UNM remains at the forefront of academic excellence and innovation,” said UNM President Garnett S. Stokes. “We are grateful to the voters of our state for their overwhelming support for, and trust in, The University of New Mexico.”
Central New Mexico Community College will get $10 million for the Center for Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development, as well as $6 million for Health and Safety Improvements on all CNM campuses.
There would also be health and safety improvements at all CNM campuses. Those include Emergency Alert Improvements, as well as improving code compliance in CNM’s facilities.
Voters from around New Mexico overwhelmingly supported these much-needed GO improvement bonds for the past six cycles — 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 — as well as this year.
