Constitutional Debate
By Matthew Franck
Journal Staff Writer
One side argues that a voucher system would siphon off millions of dollars from the state's already lean public schools. The other side claims schools could actually benefit financially by losing students to private institutions.
Both sides, however, agree on a key point regarding the fiscal impact of vouchers.
There will be at least some new cost associated with the plan.
One reason: The governor's plan would allow students who already attend private and religious schools to qualify for vouchers.
That means the state would have to spread its public education budget among more children.
Just how many more children depends on how large the voucher system might ultimately become.
Initially, the group would likely be small, since the governor plans to first issue vouchers only to low-income students in three counties.
But by the 12th year, the plan would have gradually expanded to all students in the state.
Using current figures, that scenario would see the state issuing a $3,100 annual voucher to each of the approximately 32,000 New Mexico students now attending non-public schools. Because the state doesn't pay to educate those students now, the price tag for that option would exceed $100 million each year.
On Friday, Johnson said the impact in the first year of the phased-in program, with a limited number of students, would be much smaller -- probably totaling $2.2 million.
The $2.2 million in first-phase money would pay for vouchers for an estimated 567 low-income students who attend nonpublic schools in Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Doña Ana counties.
Johnson said the $2.2 million would not come from the current education budget.
But critics say the spending would keep the state from boosting expenditures on other education programs.
Either way, neither side so far is calling for a tax increase to support any education plan that might emerge. Johnson is opposed to tax increases.
And regardless of how the voucher debate ends, property taxes will not likely be affected. The funds to support vouchers would come almost entirely from the state's approximately $1.5 billion school operations budget. Those funds come largely from gross-receipts taxes.
The more than $600 million generated annually from property taxes would continue to be dedicated to the construction and upkeep of public schools.
Still unclear is the impact the proposal would have on school districts as they lose students and funding to vouchers.
Johnson claims the impact would not be severe, since the vouchers would represent only a portion of the funds schools receive annually.
Including money for capital expenses, "we pay about $5,500 ... each year for each student in our public schools," Johnson said. "If a student with a $3,100 voucher were able to find an alternative to public school, then $3,100 would leave the public school, when, in fact, $5,500 is funded for that student. So the school would be left with $2,400 for a student no longer there."
Critics, however, say it's not that simple.
School district and union officials say it is unfair to assume that just because a district is losing students, that it can save a proportionate amount of money.
For example, they say, it could take just as much to operate a school with 475 students as a school with 500. By losing money, they say, schools could be required to provide essentially the same services with less money.
Michael Vigil, chief financial officer for Albuquerque Public Schools, said vouchers would be chaotic to budget planners. It would be impossible, he said, for them to predict each year how many students might show up to school and how many teachers to hire.
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