Two amendments to New Mexico's constitution will go before voters this fall, and both are related to improving public education. Interestingly, support for the amendments is not split evenly among political party lines. Alamagordo Daily News writer Michael Shinabery gives this description of the educational debate:
The first constitutional amendment is two-fold. It seeks to “transfer the State Department of Public Education to a cabinet department,” and “create an elected public education commission.”
If successful, [Democratic Gov. Bill] Richardson could appoint a “secretary of public education” as early as Sept. 24... the secretary will only be accountable to the governor...the secretary “shall have administrative and regulatory powers and duties, including all functions relating to the distribution of school funds and financial accounting for the public schools.”
Some claim that this cabinet secretary will reduce accountability to taxpayers, but apparently, in a state where half the budget goes to education, the governor doesn't really know where that money goes[!]. The cabinet secretary would be in charge of that, and would be held accountable.
The second amendment increases distributions from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to, among other things, raise teacher pay...What voters are being asked is to raise the Land Grant Fund’s annual distribution. Currently, it is 4.7 percent, as voters established in 1996. If the amendment is approved on Sept. 23, the payout will rise to 5.8 percent for eight years, Marquardt said, providing an average $72 million per year.
The question is, will having more money available mean that New Mexico's test scores will rise? Shinabery notes that education funding in New Mexico has increased by $800 million over the last eight years, with a statewide budget now at $1.9 billion - but New Mexico's NAEP scores consistently lag well behind national averages.
Posted by kswygert at August 7, 2003 02:52 PM