A Devastating 1% Cut

News New Mexico - Santa Fe, NM – After much deliberation, the state’s $2.4 billion public education budget sponsored by Rep. Rick Miera (D-Albuquerque) unanimously passed the House Education Committee (HEC) today. House Bill 3, as amended by the HEC, appropriates funding for the State Equalization Guarantee (commonly referred to as the Public School Funding Formula), the public school transportation distribution formula, the Public Education Department, other recurring school appropriations, including the Regional Education Cooperatives, and initiatives that support public school students statewide.

The bill passed with a vote of 7-0. Four members were excused. Rep. Miera, the Chairman of the HEC, said, “This budget is a culmination of countless hours of deliberation and I am happy to see it move forward. The committee and advocates fought hard on Saturday to keep an across the board reduction in the funding formula to a minimum – that is, to maintain the funding that is distributed to all school districts.

This budget takes into consideration many factors with minimal cuts to education funding.” Rep. Miera added, “The committee did not include any changes to the base amount in the funding formula to reflect Educational Retirement Act employer/employee contribution swaps due to the number of bills that have been introduced that may impact both the employee and the employer contribution rates. Once these bills have been reviewed, a better assessment of these numbers will be included in the overall budget.”

A Devastating 1% Cut