Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard spoke to the Rotary Club of Silver City on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. The event was held in the Sunset Room of the WNMU Student Memorial Building.
Shepard provided an overview of General Obligation Bond 3, which will be on the ballot this November, and he described the university’s plans to use $9 million in funding from the GO Bond to design, construct and furnish a new Child Development Center, which will be part of the New Mexico Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Education.
“If we receive [the $9 million], that will be the beginning of building a new Child Development Center out behind St. Mary’s Church,” said Shepard. The new facility will increase the current center’s infant and toddler program capacity by 45% and include indoor and outdoor learning spaces, offices and space for future growth.
In addition to this initial bond-funded project, the university also has longer-term goals for the site off Alabama Street, according to Shepard, including eventually constructing a new home for the College of Education and developing an arboretum and gardens.
If passed, this year’s GO Bond will deliver $229,565,000 funding across the state without raising the property tax rate. It will create nearly 2,300 new jobs, including approximately 90 in Grant County. The money from the bond will benefit local communities in many ways, including funds spent for construction and other supplies, employment of residents, and out-of-town workers staying, shopping and eating in the local community.