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  • New Mexico
  • David G. Martinez (bio) and Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos (bio)

FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR P-12 AND/OR HIGHER EDUCATION

New Mexico's per-pupil school expenditures have increased by 1.6% from $10,614 in 2016 to $10,785 in 2017 (NEA, 2017). Despite the increase, New Mexico spends approximately 89% of the projected 2017 national average of $11,984. This change corresponds to a reduction in New Mexico's school finance national rank to 32nd overall.1 The proposed FY 2017 budget allocated approximately 44% of all new projected revenue for public education ($101 million). This proposed budget allocated $2.84 billion total for public schools in the state. New Mexico's FY 2017 general fund budget increased by $228 million (3.7%) over the FY 2016 budget, to $6.5 billion.2 The FY 2018 budget proposes a decrease to the public education general fund of $170 million to $2.67 billion. This decrease includes reductions in funding of $37.8 million in equalization guarantee, $30 million in transportation and instructional materials, and $4.5 million in Governor allocated classroom reform funds.3 New Mexico continues to rely heavily on State sources of revenue to fund education. Federal sources equal $499 million4 while local sources make up $694 million5 of total revenue toward education. New Mexico also decreased combined higher education, funding from FY 2017 to FY 2018. The state FY 2018 proposal includes allocations of $779 million for higher education, down from $786 million in FY 2017. As of May 2017, it was unclear if this funding would actually funnel toward the various colleges and universities of the state as Governor Susanna Martinez has taken several legislative steps to strip this funding with the use of administrative veto. It may take some time until the fiscal challenges to higher education in New Mexico are [End Page 285] clarified.

P-12 PER-PUPIL EXPENDITURE

$10,785 (2017).

ALLOCATION OF STATE DOLLARS AND PERCENT OF THE STATE BUDGET FOR P-12 AND HE

K-12 school revenue $2.67 billion (est. 2018).

Higher Education revenue $779 million (est. 2018).

Total of 57.5% in general fund spending.

The estimated New Mexico 2018 general fund is approximately $6 billion.

CHANGES TO FUNDING FORMULA FOR P-12 AND/OR HIGHER EDUCATION

New Mexico's 53rd Regular and Special Legislative sessions proposed, and passed, several bills that affected education in the state. Among these was Senate Bill 30 that would make changes to the New Mexico Public Education Department's public school funding formula. SB 30 would result in a decrease in the number of program units each charter school and school district receives. The new budget of charter schools would be based on the projected number of program units generated by the school using the instructional staff training, experience index, and teacher cost index of the school district in which the school is geographically located. Senate Bill 114 (House Bill 7) is a solvency measure that limits district operational fund expenditures to those districts with cash balances of greater than three percent of its fiscal year 2016 program cost. House Bill 477 is a curriculum bill that requires community schools to include evidence based school models that improve academic outcomes. This includes increases in attendance and student behavioral management. Senate Bill 181 allows the higher education department of New Mexico to receive priority over tax refund interception in cases where tax refunds are used for debt claims. Senate Bill 197 would provide fiscal relief for those minority doctoral recipients who teach in post-secondary institutions in New Mexico. Finally, Senate Bill 362 reauthorized capital outlay expenditures through appropriation of existing funding.

PRESSING STATE ISSUES AFFECTING P-12

New Mexico continues its school funding litigation in Martinez v. State/ Yazzie v. State. Both the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund have argued the state of New Mexico's funding of public education is inadequate. The lawsuit claims New Mexico has fundamentally failed to support the Indian Education Act, the Hispanic Education Act, and the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act by limiting [End Page 286] the amount of educational...

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