Today's Opinions

As an education employee of the state of New Mexico, I have been asked to give up 1.5 percent of my pay for the coming fiscal year. A $400 million shortfall, they tell us. OK. The school district comes to us today, and asks us to give up one day’s pay to help balance the budget here in our district, and keep everybody employed. A $400,000 shortfall, they tell us. OK. We all know state revenue is down. A lot. I guess we all have to do our part, and we know things are much worse in other parts of the country.

This past weekend, a few hundred Highlands University and Luna Community College students walked across the commencement stage and received their degrees. And while some will go on to pursue another degree, most of them are about as academically prepared as they’re going to be for the working world.

Unfortunately, they will enter the workforce during a recession, so it won’t be easy. Just about every job opening out there will have numerous applicants, so standing out in a crowd will be a challenge.

GRADUATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL. This weekend will be the Highlands University and Luna Community College graduations. Then, on May 22 and 23, East and West will hold commencements. Congratulations to all who will walk across the stage to receive their diplomas and degrees.

It’s a time of transition for a lot of our young people — and their parents, who must let them go on to the next stage of life. The economic times may be tough, but there’s still a lot to look forward to, and our best wishes go out to all.