The Santa Fe New Mexican, May 9, 2013

Page 1

New-look police, sheriff’s vehicles hit the streets Local news, A-6

Locally owned and independent

Thursday, May 9, 2013

www.santafenewmexican.com 75¢

St. Michael’s principal to stay on School president reverses decision to let Govea go following community outcry By Robert Nott The New Mexican

Sam Govea will remain as principal of St. Michael’s High School for at least one more year. School President Marcia Sullivan made the

announcement during a student assembly in the gym at the private school Wednesday afternoon. Both she and Govea made brief comments stressing the need for the school to come together to help implement its new three-year strategic plan. Sam Govea That plan calls for improving academic achievement, recruiting and supporting a strong teaching staff, developing resources to support a “21st century

education,” and involving parents in student success, among other goals. In March, Sullivan announced that the school would not renew Govea’s contract at the end of this school year. Initially, she said she and Govea had a difference of opinion regarding the future of the school. In a follow-up meeting with staff, students and alumni, board of trustees member John Fox said that the school was letting Govea go because he refused to obtain a New Mexico

Please see STAY, Page A-4

CÉSAR CHÁVEZ COMMUNITY SCHOOL BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY

Former Rep. Dan Foley, right, pictured in 2008, qualifies for a pension at age 39. NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO

Legislators receive no salary, but pensions add up Lawmakers can begin receiving benefits after 10 years of service By Barry Massey

The Associated Press

Adam Benton, a BMX rider with Stuntmasters from Phoenix, high-fives César Chávez Community School students during a National Bike to School Day event Wednesday. PHOTOS BY LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

Voters booted Republican Dan Foley from office after a decade in the New Mexico Legislature, and within months he began collecting taxpayer-financed pension benefits — even though he was only 39 years old. By the time he turns 67 and qualifies for full Social Security benefits, Foley will have received nearly $450,000 in pension payments in exchange for the $5,000 he contributed to the plan while serving in the state House of Representatives. New Mexico’s unique and generous legislative retirement program has raised questions as lawmakers have trimmed pension benefits for some government workers, yet resisted scaling back their own program. “Pensions are for people when you are old and are not able to earn a living anymore,” said former Rep. Dennis Kintigh, a Roswell Republican who pushed unsuccessfully last year to establish a minimum retirement age of 62 for legislators. New Mexico is the only state in the nation where lawmakers don’t receive a salary but collect a pension. Supporters say the pension partly compensates lawmakers for their unsalaried work and offers a financial incentive for legislators to leave office rather than cling to power as career politicians. The job is supposed to be part time, but lawmakers regularly devote long hours to their duties attending legislative sessions and committee meetings. Legislators can receive retirement benefits at any age after leaving office provided they’ve served 10 years. That allowed Foley to begin collecting retirement checks in 2009 even though he was in the

Please see PENSIONS, Page A-4

INSIDE PE teacher Sara Alonso gives second-grader Donelia Torrence, 8, a name tag for her bike as she arrives at school Wednesday morning.

Dow at 15,000 and climbing: What’s next? By Bernard Condon and Steve Rothwell The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 15,000 for the first time Tuesday. An improving outlook for the economy and record corporate earnings are persuading investors to buy stocks. Federal Reserve stimulus is also helping. The Dow closed Wednesday up 48.92 points, or 0.3 percent, at 15,105.12. The index is 15.3 percent higher for the year. The S&P 500 index was 6.73 points higher, or 0.4 percent, at 1,632.69, extending its advance for 2013 to 14.5 percent. The Dow has has more than doubled since hitting a bottom at 6,547 on March 9, 2009, during the Great Recession. Now that stocks have scaled these heights, what’s

Please see DOW, Page A-4

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds B-7

Comics B-12

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

‘Eureka!’ National Dance Institute New Mexico’s end-of-school student showcase continues, 6 p.m., The Dance Barns, 1140 Alto St.; call 983-7661 for tickets, encores Friday and Saturday, May 10-11.

Obituaries Anthony LujanOrtega, May 4 Manuel “Manny” Ortiz, 79, May 4 Bruce M. Gallaher, 62, Santa Fe, May 2 PAGE A-10

Lotteries A-2

u Pension benefits of some notable former legislators. u Q&A on the Legislature pension program. PAGE A-4

Jony Harnisch, a BMX rider with Stuntmasters, flips during a demonstration Wednesday afternoon.

Today Partly cloudy. High 70, low 46. PAGE A-12

Opinion A-11

Police notes A-10

Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com

Report: Colleges funneling more aid to affluent students Poor paying more, taking on debt to attend universities By John Hechinger and Janet Lorin Bloomberg News

BOSTON — Colleges such as Boston University are using financial aid to lure rich students while shortchanging the poor, forcing those most in need to take on heavy debt, a report found. Almost two-thirds of private institutions require students from families making $30,000 or less annually to pay more than $15,000 a year, according to the report released Wednesday by the Washington-based New America Foundation. The research analyzing Education Department data for the 2010-11 school year undercuts the claims of many wealthy colleges that financial-aid practices make their institutions

Sports B-1

Time Out A-8

affordable, said Stephen Burd, the report’s author. He singled out schools, including Boston University and George Washington University, that appear especially pricey for poor families. “Colleges are always saying how committed they are to admitting low-income students — that they are all about equality,” Burd said in a phone interview. “This data shows there’s been a dramatic shift. The pursuit of prestige and revenue has led them to focus more on high-income students.” The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute. Its president is Steve Coll, a former Washington Post managing editor who will become dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in July. Its chairman is Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, the Mountain View, Calif.based search-engine company.

Scoop A-9

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010

Please see AID, Page A-5

Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 129 Publication No. 596-440


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.