House explores plans to raise school funding

John Sena | The New Mexican

2/7/2008 - 2/8/08

The state House of Representatives voted 52-16 to approve a new school funding formula on Thursday, but even if the measure is approved by the Senate, schools still face a long road before they would get any additional money.

After years of school district complaints about inadequate funding, a group of legislators and school officials spent the last two years studying the state's current funding formula. The group found New Mexico schools are underfunded by nearly 15 percent. In 2006-2007, that amounted to about a $350 million shortfall.

The new funding formula, outlined in House Bill 241, would erase that deficit and award funds to schools based on four major factors: poverty, the number of English Language Learners, the number of special education students and student mobility.

To come up with $332 million, Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, are proposing two measures that include raising property taxes. An additional $20 million has been included in a general appropriations bill.

Varela's resolution, House Joint Resolution 10, a constitutional amendment that would require voter approval, would raise about $270 million, based on current property values. Homeowners would be taxed an additional $500 a year per every $100,000 of assessed value.

Stewart's resolution, HJR 8, would increase the amount taken from the state's land grant permanent fund. Schools, Stewart said, already get about $400 million a year from interest generated from the $10.6 billion in the fund. Stewart's plan also would have to be approved by voters.

"Let the people decided whether they want better education," Varela said before Thursday's vote on the proposed formula.

Both funding measures are still in committee.

Several other efforts to raise money have been introduced, but none have made much headway. If lawmakers have to cobble together the money for the new formula through various pieces of legislation, it won't be implemented until all $332 million has been raised. Any money generated before then will be placed in a nonreverting fund.

If they can't come up with the money by July 1, 2012, the new formula will be scrapped.

Despite overwhelming support for the funding change in the House, several lawmakers raised various concerns about how it might affect certain districts and students.

Gifted students, for instance, are classified as special education students. School districts get more money for a special education student under the current formula. Some lawmakers asked whether that would still be the case in the new formula.

Under the new plan, gifted students would not be classified as special education so schools won't get rewarded for having large numbers of gifted students.

Instead, Stewart told the House, schools will be required to include gifted students in their overall school plan and will be held accountable for services using an Educational Plan for Student Success.

Districts and schools already are required to create an EPSS to guide improvement in math and reading, but they would be required to lay out all of their programs in the plan under the new formula.

Critics worried the proposed formula would negatively affect a small group of districts. Rep. Jeannette Wallace, R-Los Alamos, whose district would get about $1.9 million less, said a new funding formula shouldn't penalize districts.

The funding formula measure, HB 241 is scheduled to go before the Senate Education Committee at 8 a.m. today.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.