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General Obligation Bond 3 for Higher Education

Project Summaries

Thomas & Brown Hall Replacement: The 50-year-old Thomas & Brown Hall will be replaced and modernized to expand student-centric and experiential hands-on learning facilities for students from across campus. The project will foster research opportunities through multi-disciplinary lab space for student projects and faculty collaboration. The new design will also include a Learning Community designed to enhance student success. ($22.5 million)

Health and Social Services Building and O’Donnell Hall Renovations: These two buildings house most of the departments in the newly created College of Health, Education and Social Transformation, which includes the previously separate colleges of Education and Health and Social Services, as well as the Department of Sociology. Renovations will help consolidate and integrate some departments that are currently housed in multiple locations and create more state-of-the-art multidisciplinary smart classrooms. The project will provide capacity for planned growth in disciplines like nursing and kinesiology. ($13.5 million)

Nursing Skills and Simulation Center Expansion: The expansion and modernization of the Nursing Skills and Simulation Center will directly address the nursing shortage in New Mexico. The state has a shortage of more than 6,200 registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists. The renovation will establish an operating room suite to be dedicated to the nurse anesthesiologist program and free up classrooms currently being used as lab space. ($2 million)

New Mexico Department of Agriculture Renovation, Phase 3: The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is headquartered at New Mexico State University but serves the entire state of New Mexico. Previous phases of this project, funded by severance tax bond and general fund appropriations, are expected to be complete in April 2023. Phase 3 will include replacement of the outdated original NMDA main building with construction of a new administrative facility to address statewide needs, including space for additional regulatory, Healthy Soil Program, and Food, Farm and Hunger Initiative staff. The new building and site infrastructure improvements will meet current codes for life safety and data, electrical, and mechanical utilities. ($10.5 million)

Other Projects

  • Infrastructure improvements and roof replacement at Doña Ana Community College in Doña Ana County: $1.35 million
  • Renovations, infrastructure improvements and roof replacement for Martinez Hall at NMSU-Grants campus in Cibola County: $1.25 million

 


How will GO Bond 3 help shape New Mexico’s future?

Passage of the GO Bond will help address our state’s nurse and educator shortages.

With new state-of-the-art equipment for the nursing skills and simulation lab and state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary smart classrooms for the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation, we can attract and retain students interested in becoming nurses, public health experts, and teachers. Investing in New Mexico students will set them up with the skills and experience needed to serve their communities right here in New Mexico.

Passage of the GO Bond will help shape New Mexico’s future workforce.

The key to New Mexico’s economic long-term stability is to attract high-tech industry. The space industry and the energy-water-food nexus are top priorities, and NMSU is an essential part of the labor equation. Economic expansion depends on a highly trained and available workforce that includes a wide variety of disciplines working in concert to solve critical issues and support workforce development. By fully reimagining the design and function of Thomas & Brown Hall, the College of Engineering is poised to nurture cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and distance learning to promote the success of students from all over NMSU.

Passage of the GO Bond will support the needs of New Mexico’s agriculture industry.

The new and modernized New Mexico Department of Agriculture facility will provide additional space for new programs and initiatives. It’s key to NMDA’s mission of promoting a fair marketplace, food protection, marketing and economic development; supporting the beneficial use and conservation of natural resources; and working cooperatively with the public and private sectors.

 

Dates to Remember

October 11 – Last day to register to vote (however, same-day registration is now available)

October 11  – Absentee ballots begin to be mailed

October 11 – Early in-person voting at the Doña Ana County Government Center only

October 15 – Early in-person voting available at Alternate Early Voting Centers. Visit  www.dacelections.com  for a list of locations

November 8 – Election Day



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Early architectural rendering of how the Thomas & Brown building might look at NMSU’s Las Cruces campus. 


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Nursing Skills and Simulation Center at NMSU's Las Cruces campus.
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Current NMDA Building at NMSU's Las Cruces Campus.

 

GO Bond 3 Statewide:
Powering New Mexico’s Economy

Learn more about impactful higher education projects across New Mexico that will be supported by GO Bond 3:

Bond3ForNM.com

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ZERO

Increase in tax rate increase associated with the approval of GO Bond 3 

$216 MILLION

Funds available for colleges and universities all across the state

$51.1 MILLION

for the NMSU system and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture

Learn more about GO Bond 3

The Opportunity Scholarship, which became law in July 2022, provides money for qualifying adult students to get an education at a four-year or community college. It is available to working adults who may have started and not finished college or working adults who want to complete specialized training in a trade or earn a college degree. The Lottery Scholarship was established in 1996 to provide high school graduates with funding to pay part of the cost of attending community college or a four-year public college or university full-time. 

GO Bond 3 is ONLY designed to provide public colleges and universities with funds to renovate existing facilities; replace old, outdated facilities with new facilities; or upgrade campuses with new technology or safety enhancements. It does not provide funds to students. GO Bond 3 funds are intended to make colleges and universities safe places to learn that are competitive with public colleges and universities in other states. The funds cannot be used for any purpose other than projects listed in the legislation that authorized the bond question to be put on the ballot.

The goals are to: 1) maintain the public colleges and universities taxpayers have already invested in; and 2) graduate professionals with in-demand skills who will stay in New Mexico and contribute to our state's future.

Many degrees and certificates (healthcare, trades, technology, etc.) REQUIRE a blend of classroom, laboratory and/or hands-on learning as well as online instruction. Also, some students learn more effectively in a classroom than an online setting, so it is important to provide options. In addition, many public colleges and universities offer meeting and performance spaces to groups throughout their communities.

The 2022 GO Bond to support higher education is tax neutral, as verified by the State of New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. These bonds are a replacement of general obligation bonds for higher education that are expiring or have already expired.

If GO Bond 3 fails to pass, there is no guarantee property tax rates will be reduced, nor will it give the State of New Mexico the ability to use this money for other purposes. The last time the GO Bond for higher education failed was in 2010. After that election, we could not find evidence that property taxes decreased in any county in New Mexico.

The reasons for declining college enrollment include declining birth rates, the widespread immediate availability of jobs, and greater public skepticism of the need for higher education, but the potential long-term effects of this decline could be disastrous. People without education past high school are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be employed. They're more prone to depression, live shorter lives, divorce more frequently, and vote and volunteer less often. With fewer people going to college, society is going to be less healthy. It will be harder to find people to fill the jobs we need in the future and it will be harder for innovation to occur. The bottom line is that if Americans keep choosing not to go to college, the U.S. will continue its economic slide.

(Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/22/college-enrollment-drop/)

Research shows the bond will create about one (1) job, on average, for every $100,000 in funding in architecture, construction and related fields. Therefore, this year's bond funding of $215,560,000 will create an estimated 2,156 jobs. People who renovate or build facilities or provide services contribute to the economies of the communities where public colleges and facilities are located in by eating, staying in and purchasing goods and services in those communities. Plus, communities and counties benefit from increases in gross receipts taxes.

 

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Early architectural renderings of how buildings in the agricultural district might look at NMSU’s Las Cruces campus. The buildings’ designs are underway using general obligation bond funding approved by voters in 2018 – Phase 1 of the Agricultural Modernization and Educational Facilities project. Another $18 million for the project’s second phase is part of the 2020 GO Bond on the ballot Nov. 3. (Images courtesy fbt architects). 
River

Water Conservation and Rangeland Ecology

Water quality and rangeland conservation facilities will allow faculty to address important challenges to New Mexico’s urban and rural communities, including preserving our water and natural resources.

Lab

Human Health & Biomedical Research

New facilities for biomedical teaching and research will help us test cancer-fighting molecules, fight mosquito-borne diseases and engage with emerging public health concerns.

cattle

Food Security & Animal Production Efficiency

Interdisciplinary research and training will increase the profitability of New Mexico’s agricultural industry as it feeds tomorrow’s global population, estimated to increase by 70% in the next 30 years.

Child on Horse

Student Learning & Public Outreach

Climate-controlled facilities will support NMSU experiential learning, community and youth events involving horses, livestock and equine-assisted therapy programs.

Thank you for supporting 2020 GO Bond C!
Agricultural Modernization and Educational Facilities Phase 2

New Mexico State University's #1 funding priority for the 2020 GO Bond C included facilities to meet vital concerns in New Mexico:

  • Water Conservation & Rangeland Ecology
  • Human Health & Biomedical Research
  • Food Security & Animal Production Efficiency
  • Student Learning & Public Outreach

Enhancing multidisciplinary research and experiential learning to create a vibrant workforce and economy for New Mexico.

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Downloadable Flyer (2 pages)

Thank you for supporting 2018 GO Bond D!
Agricultural Modernization and Educational Facilities Phase 1

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Downloadable Flyer (2 pages)