Education Budget Goes to House Appropriations and Finance Committee
Next year's budget took its first step as the House Education Committee reported its budget recommendations in House Bill 3, the Education Appropriation Act to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. The budget submitted by the Education Committee is essentially a flat budget based on this year’s budget after the cuts contained in the solvency package already approved by the legislature. One important item missing from the budget is any compensation increase, except for new minimum salary for educational assistants of $13,000, adding some 2.6 million new dollars.
Also missing is any new funding for increased insurance costs. Most NEA-New Mexico members get their health insurance benefits through the programs of the New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority (NMSPIA). As a part of its budget cutting plan the Legislative Finance Committeepressured the NMSPIA Board to draft a benefits plan that contained no premium increase for next year. This is the funding level currently in House Bill 3, the Education Appropriation Act. While no premium increase might seem like a good idea at first glance, it requires deep cuts in employee health benefits to achieve. Some of the cuts include adding a deductible of $300 per person. Office call co-pays will go up $5 or $10. There will be a $300 deductible or $900 per family plus an additional 20% coinsurance payment, up to a $2800 out of pocket maximum. Tier 3 drugs will go to a charge of 50% of the discount price; a minimum price will be established. While the NMSPIA board did not officially accept these changes, they will be on the agenda for the group's March 3 and 4 board meeting in Santa Fe.
If the legislature refuses to fund the employer share of premium increases through the school funding formula, they have little choice but to instigate the changes. Even thought it means a premium increase, we need to ask the legislature to fund the employer insurance share to avoid these benefit cuts. As the final budget takes shape, call legislators and the Governor and tell them you do not support this drastic cut of employee health benefits.
Follow this link to send an email on school employee health benefits.
One increase included is the next installment of the employer’s increased share of retirement, amounting to .75% of salaries. This was part of the solvency plan for education retirement reached several years ago. Employees’ contribution increases included as a part of the plan concluded last year. Employers’ contribution rates are slated to increase by .75% per year until 2012.
While the ideas of increased class size and reducing the instructional year by one day are not in the House Education Committeerecommendation, that doesn’t mean that these or other cuts might not show up in the final version of school funding produced by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. The measure cuts categorical spending for public education by some 1.4%, including a $23,000,000 cut in instructional materials, a $2,000,000 cut in professional development funds, a $500,000 cut in support for mentoring, and a $770,000 cut in truancy prevention. The Appropriations Committee has a goal of completion of the entire budget bill House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act, by Friday, February 20.
Follow this link to ask the legislature for adequate funding next year.
A New Funding Formula
House Bill 331, sponsored by Representative Mimi Stewart is the legislation that creates a new more efficient funding mechanism for New Mexico Public Schools. This legislation received a unanimous do-pass recommendation from the House Education Committee yesterday morning. The measure moves to the House Appropriations and Finance Committeefor its next hearing.
The formula laid out in House Bill 331 provides for a new public school funding formula and the maintenance and periodic recalibration of the formula. Since the new formula radically changes the distribution of public school funding, it is important that the new money be place before the redistribution takes place.
House Bill 331, if funded, provides for a new public school funding formula and the maintenance and periodic recalibration of the formula. The bill provides for a longer school year for students, a longer work year for teachers and other instruction staff (one additional day in 2010-2011 and four days when fully implemented--the bill requires that the days be paid for with additional compensation), and codifies the Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS) as the accountability instrument to be used to verify appropriate programs of instruction are provided.
For the first time in New Mexico's recent history an empirical study determined the costs of ensuring that all students in the state of New Mexico have access to the programs and resources necessary to have sufficient education as required by the State Constitution. The bill lays out the foundation for a new formula projecting the sufficient per-student cost calculation for school districts and charters schools. It contains definitions and cost factors consisting of: poverty, English language learners, special education, mobility, percent of district enrollment by set grades, and the weighted index of staff qualifications. It identifies the sufficient per-student cost multiplier and guidance about how to complete the sufficient per-student cost calculation. Methodologies are identified for factoring in growth; new school demographics; special education; implementation of intervention strategies related to lowering special education identification rates; annual updates of cost factors; and annual adjustment of the base per-student cost based on appropriations.
Follow this link to send an email to House Members asking them to pass the new funding formula
Sufficient Funding for Public Schools
Without a new source of revenue, the funding formula proposed in House Bill 331cannot be funded. A tax bill, House Bill 346, has also been introduced by Representative Stewart. This bill provides the new funding needed through a combination of repeal or recent high earners tax cuts and a half percent increase in Gross Receipts Tax. Together the two methods will raise some $350 million for the school year beginning in 2010.
Using the revenues form House Bill 346 and the new funding formula laid out in House Bill 331, there is sufficient revenue to meet the constitutional requirement to fund schools sufficiently.
House Bill 346 received its first public hearing last week in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. Lobbyists for every major business group in the state were at the hearing in force, expecting to kill the legislation after a short hearing. Two extraordinary things happened. The hearing wasn't short, it lasted for hours and members of the committee thoroughly debated the bill. And then, much to the chagrin of the titans of industry present, Speaker Ben Lujan led a charge that chastised the anti-school funding lobbyists for offering only criticism and no constructive alternatives to the funding mechanism offered in House Bill 346. Other members of the committee were especially forceful and effective in their defense of public education and support for sufficient funding. These included Committee Chair Edward C. Sandoval; Representative Jim Trujillo; Representative Roberto Gonzales; and Rep Representative Benjamin Rodefer. Follow the links indicated above to these Representatives to thank them for their support, especially if any of them represent you. At the conclusion of the hearing, the measure was temporarily tabled, with instructions from Chairman Sandoval to the assembled business leaders to work with the sponsors to attempt to put together a funding mechanism that they could support.
Let the entire House Taxation and Revenue Committeeknow that you support raising revenues to sufficiently fund public schools.
Senator Cynthia Navahas also introduced a tax bill to provide sufficient funding for public schools. It is Senate Bill 412. This measure increases Gross Receipts Tax by 1% and will be heard first in the Senate Education Committee. Let members of this committee know that you support Senate Bill 412 and sufficient funding for public schools.
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