And around 8 percent don’t have a computer at home.
Those were just some of the revelations from a legislative report Thursday that highlighted the obstacles the state is facing as it aims to provide distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
Another challenge: Several of the state's internet service providers — under intense pressure from rural school districts to improve connectivity as the learning model moves online — say they need a better strategic broadband and wireless plan from the state.
The deficiencies in internet service will cost New Mexico between $20.9 million and $26.2 million in additional funds to ensure all students can participate in remote learning over the next 12 months, according to a Legislative Finance Committee report produced by analysts Micaela Fischer and Jacob Rowberry.
That could be done by providing Chromebook laptops and cellular hot spots, and subsidizing broadband and satellite internet service, Fischer said.
At a legislative hearing Thursday, some legislators were sharply critical of the lack of internet service in some areas of the state.
Sen. Clemente Sanchez said when he drives to work every day in Grants, he sees families sitting in a park under canopies trying to use Wi-Fi from surrounding buildings.
“They're losing knowledge. They’re losing it out there,” Sanchez said of children. “And that's very frustrating and it breaks my heart to see that happening to all these kids.
“There's just so much inconsistency, and part of it is because we don't have the technology and we weren't prepared for this happening now,” he added.
The analysts said in their report the extra money to supply internet service in areas where it's lacking could be obtained from a school relief fund passed as part of a federal COVID-19 stimulus package, or from school districts’ cash balances from last fiscal year.
Sanchez accused schools of hoarding the cash instead of spending it to improve remote learning capabilities.
“Go spend the money, schools,” the Democratic senator said. “Go spend it so students can learn.”
In a separate legislative hearing on Wednesday, officials with internet service providers conceded getting students online remains a struggle in rural areas, even as internet access has been expanded.
John Badal, chief executive officer of Sacred Wind Communications, said there is no way companies can ensure connectivity to 100 percent of the state. He said about 40 percent of all tribal homes lack broadband capability, and some areas have none.
“The pandemic has shown us that we cannot take this as it comes, relying on scattered funding opportunities here and there to fill in the gaps,” Badal said on the final day of a three-day meeting of the influential Legislative Education Study Committee. “We really need to buckle down and establish a plan.”
Internet availability and bandwidth were recurring talking points on all three days for legislators, especially those representing smaller and rural communities where students struggle to log on to online classes. They cited a lack of service or bandwidth as major hurdles students and schools encountered as the 2020-21 school year began.
Rep. Tomás Salazar, D-Las Vegas, spoke of a family in his district struggling to provide consistent internet capability for five students in middle and elementary school. He was encouraged when Comcast Senior Director of Government Affairs Steve Proper said the company is spending $9.4 million to expand broadband services south of Las Vegas that would affect 6,500 homes and businesses.
“I know many of you, to your credit, are trying to be as reasonable as you can,” Salazar said. “You do have some programs that provide financial assistance [to families], and I am fully aware that might not be enough. That might be our responsibility as a Legislature.”
Company officials representing Comcast, AT&T, Kit Carson Internet, the New Mexico Exchange Carrier Group and Sacred Wind Communications indicated they offer discounted or special internet pricing, especially to families with students, while also not disconnecting services to those who have not paid bills.
Badal said his company is generating less revenue because of that.
“Our nonpayment rate has really grown,” Badal said. "We don’t disconnect customers for nonpayment, and we have gone through four, five months where they have not paid. And we’ve dropped our broadband prices for a good number of our customers.”
Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, asked Proper about the effectiveness of Comcast’s low-cost internet deal for families, wanting to know if it meets the bandwidth needs for households with three or four students. Proper said it does. Soules, a teacher, pointed out he has heard from several constituents who say their children cannot reliably log into classroom lessons on their tablets or laptops.
“We’ve had that in the public schools when, in the morning, all the teachers are logging on and it takes 20 minutes [for instruction to start] because all the teachers are logging on,” Soules said.
Badal said his company has seen a significant increase in business because it is one of the few internet providers for rural communities in the Gallup area. He said Sacred Wind also is making inroads into other communities, working with school districts serving Hatch, Truth or Consequences, and Laguna and Acoma pueblos to help improve their fiber-optic connectivity.
Robert Digneo, director of external affairs for AT&T, said the company was in the process of upgrading and adding cellular towers before the pandemic hit. Since then, it has upgraded wireless equipment on more than 120 towers around the state, affecting every county in New Mexico.
©2020 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
