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Saturday, February 4, 2006

Committee OKs School Funding

By Rep. Rick Miera
Chairman, House Education Committee
    House Bill 3, now rolled into the General Appropriations Act, provides more than $2.3 billion for public school support and recurring related appropriations for the education of nearly 327,000 students in our public schools for the school year 2006-2007.
    It represents an increase of approximately $182 million— or 8.6 percent— over last year's appropriation. It is 46 percent of the entire state budget.
    The House Education Committee focused on funding "above the line"— that is, dollars in the Public School Funding Formula. The increase of approximately $154 million reflects the committee's wish to see that as much money as possible gets to classrooms and teachers. Funds flowing to districts through the formula include:
   

Approximately $40 million required to "open the doors." These are essential expenses— enrollment growth, fixed costs (like electricity and fuel) and increased insurance costs— that must be covered before adding any new programs.
   

A 5 percent salary increase for all school employees, with the exception of the educational assistants who will receive a 9.5 percent salary increase. Both increases would be mandatory.
   

Committee members felt very strongly that now was the time to meet our commitment to the three-tiered teacher licensure system. But the House voted to stay on the original 5-year phase-in; HB 3 includes almost $7 million to continue implementation of the career ladder— after the implementation of salary increases.
   

The committee was concerned with the solvency of the Educational Retirement Fund and included sufficient funds for two years at a 1.5 percent increase. This increase in the employer's contribution is just one of several steps that need to be taken to restore the fund's solvency.
   

In elementary fine arts, the committee has included the $4.8 million necessary to fully fund this initiative.
    Outside of the funding formula, the $38 million in categorical nonrecurring appropriations approved by the House represents an increase over last year's appropriation of nearly 52 percent— a substantial jump by any measure. As substantial as it is, this figure accounts for only 1.73 percent of the nearly $2.4 billion the committee is recommending for public education in the state.
    The committee was in agreement that the recurring dollars that flow directly to school districts to operate the schools— dollars that flow through the funding formula and through other categorical formulas, such as instructional materials and public school transportation— are the most essential in ensuring that our students and teachers are not shortchanged.
    In developing the recommendation for nonrecurring dollars, the committee was faced with the problem of assessing which programs are recurring and which are truly nonrecurring. And once again, we were faced with an executive recommendation that contains a multitude of little programs.
    We took the stance that if we combined similar programs into larger ones and gave the PED secretary greater latitude in funding initiatives that will increase student achievement and lower the achievement gap, we would be more likely to see results. As the secretary herself has said, "We can no longer afford a shotgun approach."
    With this in mind, the committee's recommendation includes the following combinations of programs, among others:
   

A combined program that will encourage parental involvement in the schools and in the education of their children and that will also address the very real problem of domestic violence ($1.5 million);
   

A combined Breakfast for Elementary Students/Food to Schools Program ($2 million);
   

A combined assessment and test development program that includes alignment of high school exit exams with college placement ($6.6 million); and
   

A combined elementary physical education/anti-obesity program ($2 million).
    The committee also recommends combining truancy and dropout prevention programs but funding them with recurring funds as they are recurring problems.
    In response to requests from a number of school districts, the House authorized $6.8 million in nonrecurring dollars to assist school districts and charter schools with shortfalls experienced as a result of implementing the $45,000 minimum salary for level three-A teachers. This is a one-time fix, and districts will be expected to adjust their budgets accordingly for FY 08.
    House Bill 3 is an all encompassing budget for public education; It will provide school districts with the necessary support to maintain quality personnel and programs and to focus their resources on the classroom and improvement of student performance.
    The General Appropriations Act of 2006 is now in the Senate for its consideration.
    Rep. Rick Miera is an Albuquerque Democrat.