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Money, Money
ed learning programs and pre-K, allocations aimed at supporting at-risk students, has increased over the past four years—from roughly $200 million in 2019 to just under $700 million in fiscal year 2022. Those enlarged investments are part of a broad effort that has increased funding for eral pandemic relief money and an ongoing schools 23% since the court order. New Mexico schools are oil and gas boom. And while educators and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s adminfunded at historic levels, advocates attempt to funnel that money to istration pointed to these increases when it but how much is directed students who need it most, in part to comply filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March with a sweeping 2018 court order, an analysis 2020. First Judicial District Judge Matthew to at-risk students by SFR spotlights the difficulty of ensuring Wilson denied the state’s motion. remains unclear that money goes to “at-risk” children. Wilhelmina Yazzie, a plaintiff on behalf School funding is complex. How much of her son, Xavier Nez, who is now in college, each district receives is calculated via an à says despite the mountains of cash now availBY WILLIAM MELHADO la carte-style funding formula, with more able to schools, children are still “starved of w i l l i a m @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m funding allocated to students with addition- the resources that they’re needing.” arla Corrales is well on her way to- al learning needs, such as those who receive Culturally relevant programming and ward becoming a chef. Five days a special education services and English- “social services that our children need,” are week, the 10th-grader gets to Santa development resources. particularly lacking from schools in her area, Fe High School at 7:30 am and works for a litThe state equalization guarantee, which Gallup, Yazzie tells SFR. “Because of the pantle over an hour prepping ingredemic, they’ve been home and dients before her first class. Later, isolated. We’re trying to get she serves lunch, learning how to back to what people call norhandle difficult customers—in mal. I don’t want to go back to this case, her peers. normal. I want to go back to “I love to cook and I want to something much better than share that I can cook with other the way it was before.” people,” Corrales tells SFR before Legislative Finance her Tuesday lunch shift. Corrales Committee Deputy Director says she learned most of her culiCharles Sallee says the massive nary skills from her mother, but cash injection has reshaped she’s gained foundational kitchen school financing, but “whethexperience like time and temer that’s going to translate into perature control, safety and sanbetter outcomes for students itation in the cafeteria at Santa Fe is unknown—we haven’t tested High. students for two years.” Corrales has a paid internship Given the data coming from with Santa Fe Public Schools’ other states, Sallee explains, Student Nutrition Services, one “at-risk students will likely slip of the many departments workfurther behind their peers at a ing with students to provide more greater rate.” than a traditional education, but New Mexico public schools career preparation as well. received $1.5 billion in fedThe internship program at eral emergency relief fundDolores Ortega (left) says the skills Karla Corrales is learning while SFPS, made possible by federal ing—split into three buckets interning in the Santa Fe High School cafeteria will help her one day run funding, reflects just one district of money—that must be spent a restaurant as a chef. initiative. Michael Hagele, the by September 2024. That’s the district’s assistant superintendent of second- was established as part of the 1974 Public rough equivalent of 40% of this year’s total ary school support, says it’s a critical one. School Finance Act, distributes money eq- state education budget. Dolores Ortega, Corrales’ manager in the uitably—instead of relying on local property While there is little oversight of how discafeteria, tells SFR the aspiring chef is moti- taxes—to ensure schools receive the same tricts spend that money, the Public Education vated and mature in her role, always notifying amount of money based on students’ needs. Department must approve distributions to a supervisor when she’s prevented from makIn response to the Martinez and Yazzie schools. Much of the first round of cash went ing it to work on time. v. State of New Mexico lawsuit that found toward purchasing educational technoloBut for “students who have struggled with public schooling to be inadequate for sever- gy for students, as the pandemic left many a traditional approach to education in middle al student populations identified as at-risk, New Mexico students without an internet and high school,” Hagele tells SFR, “college the Legislature successively increased the connection. and career technical education…builds in money allocated to districts through the Hilario “Larry” Chavez, Santa Fe Public those tactile hands-on experiences for stu- guarantee. Schools’ superintendent, says “working with dents at all levels.” The additional funding awarded to at-risk our departments, we were able to develop a Schools across New Mexico are now fund- students increased by a factor of three since plan, how to address certain subgroups…with ed at historic levels, thanks largely to fed- the 2018 court decision. Funding for extend- funding.” WILLIAM MELHADO
K
NEWS
According to a PED dashboard outlining how districts spent pandemic relief funds, SFPS allocated $60,000 each to activities for the four subgroups identified as at-risk in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit. Chavez explains, with the influx of pandemic-related monies, the district funded programs that previously didn’t have financial backing. Daily tutoring, outdoor learning facilities and the internship program are three of them. Corrales, the student intern, explains that she’s learned professional skills from her coworkers in the cafeteria. “They teach me multiple things,” she says. Several line-item vetoes by Lujan Grisham in the recently approved budget will give districts similar freedom—as they have with the federal pandemic-relief dollars—to finance programs for at-risk youth. The governor cut the phrase “evidence-based” from four lines of the budget related to education, allocating funding for professional development, programming and interventions for at-risk students. “Because you don’t have as much research about the potential benefits of that particular intervention,” says Sallee of the LFC, the state should be intentional about how the public money is spent. Other education experts SFR spoke with also noted that evidence-based programming doesn’t necessarily best serve New Mexico’s unique student population. The governor’s veto messages assert that the requirement to fund evidence-based programs limits “executive managerial function.”
Does Not Equal
In a six-part series, SFR is looking into the educational landscape in the state and how inequities in school have changed since the 2018 Martinez and Yazzie v. State of New Mexico lawsuit. One more story remains.
March 2 - Does Not Equal - New Mexico faces a steep climb to make education more equitable March 9 - Disruptions to testing and muddied accountability March 16 - New Mexico’s legacy to make better teachers March 23 - Students remain disconnected despite the new virtual face of education Coming Next: April 6 - Language education shapes or denies students
SFREPORTER.COM , 2022 SFREPORTER.COM • • MARCH MARCH30-APRIL 30-APRIL5 5, 2022
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