Colleges struggle as pandemic wears on

UNM, NMSU poised to lose millions of dollars as they grapple with uncertainties

New Mexico universities said Thursday they’re facing significant financial hardships caused by state budget cuts and the erosion of revenues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of New Mexico is likely facing a $22 million cut in state funding, an amount equivalent to the entire budget for its law and engineering schools.

Meanwhile, New Mexico State University has about $20 million less this year compared to last year amid reductions in state funding and revenue losses from lower enrollment and falling need for services such as housing and dining.

“We have a huge loss in revenues,” NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu told

legislators at a meeting Thursday in Cloudcroft. “The budget challenges we have are enormous.”

New Mexico’s higher education institutions are struggling to balance multiple challenges as the pandemic wears on: the simultaneous difficulties of planning an uncertain fall semester, implementing safety measures to try to stem the spread of COVID-19 and dealing with reduced money to keep their operations afloat.

The schools’ financial woes partly stem from spending cuts to higher education approved last month by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and legislators to help mend a budget shortfall caused by the pandemic and falling oil revenues.

That’s not the only reason. UNM is projecting a 4.3 percent decline in student enrollment in the fall, while NMSU expects a drop of around 2 percent. Santa Fe Community College is expecting a decline of around 30 percent, according to a Legislative Finance Committee report released Thursday.

Those numbers are subject to change, especially as it remains unclear how many out-of-state and international students the universities will lose due to the pandemic, UNM President Garnett Stokes said.

“It remains to be seen exactly what that impact is going to be,” Stokes said at the three-day hearing put on by the Legislative Finance Committee.

Another major unknown is athletics. The two universities are grappling with a huge potential loss in revenue if their teams don’t play in the fall.

That is a real possibility as a number of college football programs nationwide have reported dozens of players testing positive for COVID-19. NMSU’s football program also has reported positive cases, but no New Mexico universities have announced the suspension of athletic programs so far for the fall semester, the committee’s report said.

If contact sports are canceled during fiscal year 2021, NMSU’s anticipated athletics revenue of $20 million will be cut in half, Arvizu said. That includes lost revenue from ticket sales, corporate sales, donations, concessions and distributions from the NCAA, he said.

NMSU already has lost a chunk of money from the cancellation of a football game against UCLA, Arvizu said.

UNM could lose as much as $15 million if there are no fall sports, Stokes said.

Arvizu said his school has not yet made decisions on whether to cut pay for coaches and athletics staff if there is no season.

While two-year colleges are largely favoring online education in the fall, fouryear universities are planning to host students for in-person classes, the legislative report said. All 24 public universities and colleges in the state have developed plans for reopening, and all of them will offer an option to receive instruction online, it said.

During the hearing, Rep. Patty Lundstrom said she was “disappointed” the Lujan Grisham administration had not yet found a replacement for former Higher Education Secretary Kate O’Neill, who resigned in March.

“I guess we don’t have anyone in charge,” said Lundstrom, D-Gallup.

Kathie Winograd, former president of Central New Mexico Community College, temporarily led the department until late June.

Now, Stephanie Rodriguez, the governor’s senior policy adviser for education, and Workforce Solutions Deputy Secretary Ricky Serna are overseeing the department until the governor appoints a secretary, the Governor’s Office has said.

K-12 plans

The legislative hearing Thursday wasn’t just about higher education — reopening plans for K-12 got plenty of time, too.

Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said he was concerned about the health and safety of educators who return to public school classrooms.

“There is significant worry,” he said. “Something that keeps me up at night is the impact that this return will have on a number of staff who are very much worried about their own health.”

Stewart said his department received school districts’ reopening plans this week and is evaluating them.

He said “about a dozen” plan to begin the school year with virtual classes.

Santa Fe Public Schools said Wednesday it plans to trigger a fully remote learning plan for at least the first nine weeks of the school year as the number of COVID-19 cases rise.

Asked by legislators whether his department had to approve each district’s reopening plan, Stewart said that was a “gray area.”

The answer appeared to perturb Lundstrom, who said the agency should have oversight over each district’s reopening plan.

“That gives me a little pause that there’s not that kind of responsibility by the state and the department,” said Lundstrom, who is chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

The Cabinet secretary also received stern commentary from Sen. George Muñoz, another Gallup Democrat, who urged Stewart and the Lujan Grisham administration to give legislators advance warning before announcing any new public health orders, particularly any that might involve schools.

“If you guys are going to make a change, and you’re not going to notify us, and you’re going to do it at the Thursday press conference, our phones are going to completely blow up about schools,” Muñoz said. “Might as well throw your phone in the trash because I’ll have 200 calls in five minutes if you guys decide to shut down the schools.

“If we don’t prepare in advance to get people answers, it’s going to look bad for everybody,” he added.

Lujan Grisham suggested July 1 that schools might not be able to open in August if the COVID-19 data continued to worsen.

Stewart also was asked to quantify the amount of learning students already have missed due to the pandemic, but he said he did not give a specific number.

“I can absolutely with confidence say that many of our students missed out on a significant amount of learning,” he said.

The Legislative Finance Committee put out a report last month saying many kids in New Mexico may have lost an entire year’s worth of learning during the pandemic.