Richardson backs funding increase for schools

| The Associated Press

12/2/2008 - 12/2/08

Gov. Bill Richardson is backing a proposed overhaul of the state's school finance formula, which will cost an additional $350 million to implement.

Richardson said Tuesday he supports the increased funding for schools but wants voters to decide how to raise the extra money, possibly through a referendum or constitutional amendment.

A coalition of educational groups is backing a 1 percent increase in the state's gross receipts tax to provide more than $400 million for schools. However, Richardson didn't endorse that proposal in announcing his education agenda for the upcoming Legislature.

More than 40 percent of the state's $6 billion budget goes to public schools. But the state faces a budget shortfall this year and a bleak financial outlook for next year.