Education funds at stake as trial ends
Outcome could reshape policies
SANTA FE — A legal battle focused on the plight of New Mexico’s most vulnerable public school students is heading to a state district court judge after two months of testimony, including final witnesses today, in a case that may reshape the way public schools are funded and guided by the state.
Parents, local school districts and advocacy groups sued the state of New Mexico for failing to meet constitutional obligations to provide essential educational opportunities to all students and for not following through with 2003 reforms designed to better engage Native American students.
The outcome could reshape funding and education policies for English-language learners, Native American youth and students from low-income families across a state with the secondhighest poverty rate in the U.S.
New Mexico’s classrooms serve the highest percentage of Hispanic students in the country and the second-highest percentage of Native American students after Alaska — providing a testing ground for cultural enrichment programs and bilingual instruction involving Spanish and several Native American languages.
“All we’re looking for is the court to declare that the system is unconstitutional, and an injunction for some reasonable period of time until the Legislature and the Public Education Department bring the system into compliance,” said Marisa Bono, southwest regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a group in the coalition of plaintiffs.
Education officials under Republican Gov. Susana Martinez have defended state spending on classrooms as more than adequate and say an array of new programs help struggling students and hold teachers accountable.
In court filings, they have said lagging New Mexico public school student performance correlates with factors beyond the control of schools — entrenched poverty and a high percentage of students who begin school without strong English skills.
New Mexico is one of several states where courts are being called upon to shore up funding for public schools as frustration mounts with elected officials over state budget priorities and the quality of education.
A 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the way for a series of school funding lawsuits under common state constitutional provisions aimed at ensuring adequate public school education, said Molly Hunter of the New Jersey-based Education Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group on school funding issues.
New Mexico dedicates about 44 percent of its annual general fund spending to public school education and members of a Democrat-led Legislature have been bracing for a court ruling that could require more.