South Dakota students are struggling with debt; New Mexico is offering free tuition

Recall Republican former South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds won election to the US Senate for advocating the dissolution of the US Department of Education so he is currently sponsoring a bill that would eradicate the DoEd, curtail federal funding for kids and South Dakota still hates teachers.

Today, students in South Dakota are fifth in overall rank of those in debt and suffer that load at the highest proportion in the US. The Bendagate state is 37th in grant and work opportunities rank and is tied for 42nd in student work opportunities. 113,750 people in South Dakota don’t have enough food including 1 in 5 children.

New Mexico is 50th in average student debt, is tied for 49th in proportion of students in debt and offers free school breakfasts and lunches. New Mexico is also the third most diverse state in America while South Dakota is 37th and 46th in educational-attainment diversity according to WalletHub. 

Neighbor Lynn was an on and off member of the National Education Association (NEA) while she taught for twenty six years, twenty of those at New Mexico's oldest charter school. She told an interested party that what she liked about it was that staff and families made their own decisions and didn’t have to follow the whims of the Santa Fe Public School administration. But it wasn't always easy to get the community involved so she believes charter schools make the most sense when they have a specific purpose—like those devoted to the arts or to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have done.

New Mexico is investing big in higher education, covering tuition for roughly 55,000 students through programs like the Lottery and Opportunity Scholarships. The state has also increased funding by millions of dollars for loan repayment and debt relief programs, specifically for healthcare workers and teachers. [How Is New Mexico Paying College Tuition For 55K Students?]

Source: WalletHub