Rep. Williams Stapleton (ABQ Journal)

The last eight years in Santa Fe have been so dominated by obstruction, do nothingism and vile antagonism that it's hard to actually believe that things could ever change. The state's residents are kind of like hostages who are held so long they refuse to believe they have been freed, even as the sun finally again shines on their faces.

But even around here, where skepticism is always the right position, we have to admit that something big could finally be brewing. Why? Here are the takeaways:

--We are seeing education legislation that if passed and is effective could change the face of New Mexico in the decades ahead.

--It reminds us of 1974 when we covered the aftermath of the historic legislative debate establishing the school equalization formula. We were too young to understand its far reaching impact but we knew it was big. Really big. And we had legendary AP correspondent Bill Feather around then to tell us exactly why.

--Flash forward 45 years later to an historic ruling from District Court Judge Sarah Singleton, a freshly elected, determined Governor and a newly empowered Democratic state House who are crafting plans that appear similar in importance to that way back when legislation.

--Here's a mouthful of bureaucratese but if this bill approved by the House Education Committee makes it into law and is fully implemented you can get out your book of cliches and say, "game changer":

House Bill 5/a will double the at-risk index factor in the funding formula to 0.25, expand the K-3 Plus extended school year program to K-5 Plus, and create a K-5 Plus component in the funding formula. House Bill 5/a also creates new extended learning time program components in the funding formula, while creating a rural population component, and significantly increasing minimum salaries for teachers and principals over the next several years.

--Say all of that gets the go ahead (and is financed with the Governor's $500 million proposed increase in the public schools budget) and then somehow the proposed Constitutional Amendment to fund very early childhood via the Land Grant Permanent School Fund also makes it through. Then you just might have reality match the "education moonshot" hype coming from the Governor and House Speaker. (SB 1, the Senate version of HB5, passed the Senate a few weeks ago).

--We grudgingly yield the blog floor to House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, 61, a professional educator with nearly 25 years at the Roundhouse because, well, she pretty much nails it:

This landmark legislation has the potential to improve the lives of generations of New Mexico children. It is the most impactful piece of education legislation in decades, and it is a major step forward to improve the education process of our children. This bill addresses the learning needs that all of the children in our state are facing. Parents, teachers, and the public are looking to us to address the funding gaps identified by (the district court case) Yazzie/Martinez, and this does that and more, especially for at-risk students.

In other words the bottomless pit that has swallowed this state up may actually have a bottom. Or maybe we've been held hostage so long we're imagining things.

THE NATIVE QUESTION

The funding equalization guarantee for schools to overcome income inequality in the state in the 70s' was not perfect. It did not account for the at risk student population that led Judge Singleton to find the state in violation of its Constitutional responsibility to provide adequate funding for at risk students, who make up a majority of the state's students and most of whom are low income, Hispanic or Native American.

Native Americans in particular are key to pulling NM out of the statistical cellar because their poor education performance is so widespread. The court ruling has given them added incentive to pursue reform. Thus you get this:

During the 2018-2019 school year, school districts were awarded $65,238,725 in federal Impact-Aid funding. The Public Education Department kept 75 percent of that money by cutting back on the operational budget of districts that receive the aid funds. . . Impact-Aid is designed to assist local school districts that lose out on property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property, or that have increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally-connected children, including children living on Native lands. . .  

A press conference was held at the Roundhouse to show solidarity in the fight for schools on tribal and federal lands to receive their full impact aid. . . School and tribal representatives from Gallup-McKinley, Central, Zuni, Albuquerque, Bernalillo and other areas gathered to bring a voice to the issue.

Ironically, it is the school equalization formula that PED cites in redistributing much of the federal aid the Native Americans receive:

Even though it is generally illegal for a state to reduce state funding to a district based on aid received by the district, they are exempt because of the state’s State Equalization Guarantee Distribution (SEG) payments, or state equalization guarantee distribution, or NM statute 22-8-25.

Legislation is pending in the state Senate to have PED stop keeping the federal Impact Aid from the schools, with Indian Country Senator George Munoz playing an active role.

EVEN MORE APS

We thought we were through with last week's ABQ Public Schools election in which voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed property tax increase. We let the APS supporters have their say on the Friday blog but that only brought even more email, so we hit the issue one last time and start with self-described "Westside Gator:"

Joe, the views expressed by the two readers who took exception to what you posted on the APS election  are a very big part of the problem. First of all, yes, let's by all means attack the citizens who pay your bills and happen to disagree with you. Kizito Wijenje (director of the APS Capital Master Plan) expresses the attitude that we should be thankful we were allowed to vote. Second, property taxes are regressive. Sorry, our wallets are what we have, we can't demand payments from others. 

Albuquerque's property tax burden compared to other cities both in and outside of New Mexico was shown to be one of the highest. Suggestion: seek money from the state income tax, you know, a tax based on what money one actually has. Second suggestion: Wijenje should resign or be resigned. APS voters watch your vote for APS Board. Another example of why so much of New Mexico governance is perceived correctly as both inept and out-of-touch by those experienced with governance in other states including education.

And longtime conservative reader Jim McClure was quick to refute the Friday blog of APS supporters:

Joe, I agree with your assessment that “tax tired” voters helped defeat the APS tax hike. Another factor was growing discontent with a substandard school system that is increasingly arrogant, spendthrift and unaccountable. 

School tax elections always are a heavy lift because it’s a rare opportunity for voters to oppose a tax hike. Scheduling the vote during the legislature’s drunken-sailor season was unfortunate timing. The final blow was that instead of traditional schoolhouse voting that’s convenient for school employees and inconvenient for taxpayers, the mail ballot forced the district to hold a free and fair election.

This put the burden on the school district to convince voters that it is delivering value for their tax dollars. Some districts succeeded including, most recently, Ruidoso. This is the only standardized test APS now has to pass, and it failed.

There is now discussion of putting one of the mill levy questions back before voters during this year's November 5 ABQ election. That question is a continuation of a current tax--not a tax hike--and would have raised an estimated $190 million over six years.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019