The financial health of our school districts is foundational to the health of our state and the state economy. But this is a two-way street: Sound state government and the overall financial health of New Mexico are also critical to how well we can serve students, teachers and staff.
That’s why I believe it is important to direct more attention to our state government and its role in the financial health of New Mexico’s school districts. Meaningful progress can be made in our education system but only through consistent engagement with our legislators and by taking things into our own hands to help push for the funding and policy changes that will help our students thrive.
We all have thoughts about public education and how we’d like to see our kids improve educational attainment. Perhaps these sentiments are felt more acutely after seeing the sobering reading and math proficiency results for New Mexico’s fourth- and eighth-grade students, published by the National Center for Education Statistics this past fall. New Mexico ranked last, with less than a fifth of students at grade level.
The fate of public education in New Mexico lives and dies by the policy decisions of our state government. This isn’t to diminish the critical importance of our local elected officials and district leadership; however, almost all operational funding for school districts comes from the state. Districts are at the state’s mercy for adequate resources and, importantly, for timely payment of state aid and reimbursement for federal grant funding.
Under the current administration, school funding has increased, but it is increasing in other states, too, meaning we will remain behind. In addition, New Mexico’s per pupil funding is below average, and payments of state aid and reimbursements for federal-flow-through-funding are generally late.
These delayed payments necessitate a higher cash balance to maintain operations while awaiting due funds. However, many districts in New Mexico do not have strong cash balances because the state has taken from cash reserves in the past. The last time this happened was 2015-16, when the price of oil and gas dropped substantially. The resulting state budget shortfall prompted the state to sweep district reserves to a point where there was no healthy cushion.
When the next downturn inevitably comes, there will be nothing stopping the state from taking district funds again. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends school districts reserve two months of expenses. You can see how your district stacks up by looking at financial audits at tinyurl.com/4keusp9v.
New Mexico’s next legislative session starts Jan. 17. Our school board members, district leaders and union leaders are lobbying for much needed change with our legislators. And, several of our local legislators do push. But there is also power in numbers. A majority of New Mexicans live in relatively small communities. Your voice matters.
I have been solely focused on funding levels and state bureaucracy, but if you want to source more feedback to funnel back to legislators, I encourage you to interview any student. I spoke with my own fifth grader the other day, and it opened my eyes, and provided a wealth of additional insight that I can now channel to the decision-makers that are willing to listen.
I ask all fellow constituents — when you have a concern about public education, of course communicate with local school leaders, but please reach out to state legislators as well.
Denise Rappmund is a parent of a fifth-grader at El Dorado Community School, chairs the Santa Fe Public Schools Audit Committee and is a member of the SFPS Reimagining Steering Committee. She is a municipal bond rating analyst.