School spending flexibility bill vetoed

Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have given school districts more flexibility in how they spend revenue from local property taxes. She said the bill would have created inequities between more affluent districts and their poorer counterparts.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, said the bill would not have created inequities and he is disappointed in the veto.

Specifically, the bill would have expanded the definition of “education technology” to include things like software licenses and data storage fees. This would have allowed districts to pay for more things using property taxes, freeing up their operating funds.

Currently, districts can use voter-approved property taxes to pay for capital expenses, like building and renovation of schools and some technology. Districts without a sufficient tax base to pay for schools’ capital needs can get funding from the state Public School Capital Outlay Fund, which gives out funding based on need.

In a statement about her veto, Martinez said the bill would create inequity.

“Unfortunately, this expansion of use gives those districts with a larger tax base significantly more resources to provide education technology to students while leaving those districts with a low tax base behind,” she said.

Candelaria said he worries schools will be hamstrung in their efforts to provide classrooms with modern equipment.

He also said he wishes the governor had waited for the passage of a companion bill, now in the Senate Finance Committee, which would have extended the same flexibility to money from the Public School Capital Outlay Fund. If both bills had passed, Candelaria said, districts from all over the state would had more options for their capital spending.

“I really disagree with the governor,” Candelaria said. “I don’t think the bill would have created any inequities between our school districts, given that those without the tax base to levy mills could pursue education technology funds from the Public School Capital Outlay Commission.”
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal