Contact: Isaac Padilla
505/986.4819
Isaac.Padilla@nmlegis.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Senator Padilla Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Prevent an $80 to $20 Million Loss in Public Education Funding
Santa Fe, NM –Senator Michael Padilla (D-14-Bernalillo) has filed Senate Joint Resolution 3, which will make the additional .8% funding for public education passed by the voters in 2003 permanent. The legislature passed a constitutional amendment in 2003 that increased the base amount of public education funding distribution from the permanent land grant fund from 4.7% to 5.0%, with an additional increase to 5.8% in 2005, and then back to 5.5% in 2013, with a sunset of the provision in 2016. Senate Joint Resolution 3 will lock in the 5.8% distribution until voters decide to change it.
“If the Senate Joint Resolution does not pass, we will see $20 to $80 million in public education funding vanish in 2017” said Senator Michael Padilla. “$80 million funds is more than 1,200 teachers who we need in the classroom to prevent a dramatic increase in classroom sizes.”
Distributions from the land grant fund come solely from the return on investment for the fund, it does not touch the corpus of the fund and will not raise taxes. The fund is now worth approximately $15 Billion, an increase of $5 Billion in just the last five years. The 30 year return on the fund is approximately 9.3%. A distribution of 5.5% for public education will not prevent the fund from growing. The fund was established in the New Mexico statehood enabling act for the purpose of providing public education.
“New Mexico ranks 49th in child well-being, we are the worst state for child hunger and New Mexico ranks 50th in reading proficiency,” said Senator Padilla. “The number of schools that received a grade of D or F went up while the number of schools with a grade of A or B went down, so now there are more schools with the grade D or F than schools with the grade A or B. These facts demonstrate that New Mexico cannot afford cuts to public education.”
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