Improve schools: Spend more in the classroom
While the recent Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico decision has understandably received intense interest for its landmark ruling that New Mexico’s public schools are not adequately funded, there has been less attention on another, equally important aspect of the ruling — the finding that more money will only make a difference for students if it is spent in the classroom (“State to appeal ruling on education funding,” July 25).
As Judge Sarah Singleton explained in her ruling, there are two aspects to the state’s failure to provide an adequate education. First, she concluded that not enough money is spent to fund the programs children need.
Second, Judge Singleton stated (on page 53 of her decision) that the Public Education Department and school districts are not doing enough to make sure that the money is being spent in ways that will improve outcomes for at-risk students.
Last year, Think New Mexico studied some of the most successful school districts in the state, such as Gadsden, Texico and Farmington. We found that these districts tend to spend a high proportion of their budgets on classroom expenses, such as teachers, coaches, counselors, nurses, educational assistants and school supplies, rather than on administrative expenses in the central district office.
Other researchers have come to the same conclusion. For example, several years ago the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory conducted an extensive study of 1,500 school districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico, and concluded that “student achievement is linked to spending patterns, and money matters when spent on instruction.”
This study found that, in general, high-performing school districts spend a larger percentage of their budgets on instruction and a lower percentage on general administration than lower-performing districts, and they also tend to employ smaller numbers of administrative staff.
As the Yazzie ruling put it: “The evidence demonstrated that money spent on classroom instruction programs such as quality pre-K, K-3 Plus, extended school year, and quality teachers can all improve the performance of at-risk students and overcome the gap caused by their backgrounds” (page 45).
Unfortunately, too much of New Mexico’s school spending has gone to categories that don’t make a difference for students.
Statewide, New Mexico only spends an average of 57 percent of its education dollars on instruction, according to the National Center on Education Statistics. Another 13 percent goes to student support and instructional support. The remaining 30 percent of the education budget — nearly 1 out of every 3 dollars appropriated for education — is spent on administrative costs.
To address this, the Yazzie ruling does not simply direct policymakers to spend more on education, as it has sometimes been portrayed. It also directs policymakers to do more to ensure that districts spend those additional dollars on evidence-based classroom programs.
The Legislature and the next governor should make sure that every additional dollar appropriated in response to the Yazzie decision is spent in the classroom. (One strategy for accomplishing this was proposed last year in a bill drafted by Think New Mexico and sponsored by Rep. Larry Larrañaga, ranking Republican on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, and Rep. Bobby Gonzales, a former school district superintendent, which would have established target levels of each school district’s and charter school’s budget that must be spent in the classroom.)
As a new school year begins, parents and families across New Mexico should urge policymakers to fully respond to the landmark Yazzie decision and increase public school funding while also putting in place strong accountability measures that will make sure those additional dollars actually reach our students in the classroom.