Tap dancing

Tangible improvements are key to Land Grant Permanent Fund proposal

The temptation to tap deeper into the state’s largest permanent fund has been an itch some state lawmakers have been wanting to scratch for years. While they’ve traditionally fallen short in the state Senate, the ouster of key Democratic leaders and the support of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pave the way for approval this year.

Proponents call for increasing the annual distribution from the Land Grant Permanent fund from 5% to 6% of its proceeds.

Democrats and Republicans alike have understood the less they dip into the fund now, the more money will be available for our public schools and universities in the future. In fact, a legislative analysis of a proposal to raise annual distributions by 1% says distributions for beneficiaries would be lower after 28 years because of slower growth in the fund.

But supporters insist additional money is needed now to address shortcomings in the state’s early childhood and education systems, and that helping New Mexico’s children immediately will far outweigh the importance of keeping the corpus intact. And they point out that the fund has reached a whopping $20.8 billion.

If the proposal passes both chambers, it will still need approval from New Mexico voters in a statewide election and from Congress. The state could seek voter approval as soon as this year.

But the first step is for lawmakers to not only approve the increased distribution, but to determine how the extra revenues should be used.

The Journal editorial board has long opposed further tapping the permanent fund. But if lawmakers do vote to do so, it’s crucial they use the money carefully to target it so that it is guaranteed to provide a measurable return.

To that end, it would make sense for lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to consider investing the money into brick-and-mortar projects capable of realizing tangible improvements, such as technology upgrades to promote distance learning and overall school infrastructure improvements at public schools, both regular and charter.

The pandemic has laid bare the inequities of internet access for students in rural areas and for lowincome students in urban areas. Spending some of the approximately 180 million extra dollars made available each year by the 1% increase in distributions from the fund to improve access would offer a quickly felt boost to education throughout New Mexico.

And spending a portion of the remaining money on infrastructure would also help with another pressing issue the state is now facing. A state judge in Gallup ruled late last year that New Mexico’s capital outlay system for funding brick-and-mortar projects in school districts is unconstitutional. District Judge

Louis E. DePauli ordered state officials to come up with a new system that’s fair to all students — and money from the Land Grant Permanent Fund could be part of the solution.

This makes more sense than funneling the money into programs or a general increase for overall education — areas where it will be difficult to measure tangible results.

A proposal backed by Albuquerque Democratic state Reps. Antonio “Moe” Maestas and Javier Martínez calls for spending the bulk of the money toward education services for children too young for kindergarten, such as pre-K, and on home-visiting programs to help new parents.

While providing quality early childhood programs is critical to improving a child’s education and well-being, it should be pointed out that the governor already signed a bill last February establishing an early childhood trust fund. The $300 million fund — one of the governor’s marquee initiatives — is intended to grow to $1 billion.

The state has also rapidly increased spending on early childhood programs in recent years. In fact, a total of $550 million of state and federal dollars were spent on early childhood programs in New Mexico last year. And it’s worth noting that not all of the money allocated for certain programs was spent because not enough families signed up.

In 2019, lawmakers approved a new Cabinet-level agency, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department. Let’s give the new department a chance to determine the best path for improving early childhood education and the resources needed before simply writing a check.

Some lawmakers are also floating the idea of making the increased distributions from the land grant fund more broadly available for K-12 education. But it will be like water flowing out a pipe if it is used simply to boost salaries and benefits for adults in the system or for pet programs that don’t exhibit clearly measurable increases in learning.

At its current rate of distribution, the Land Grant Permanent Fund is expected to deliver more than $900 million to 21 beneficiaries this fiscal year, with public education receiving about 86% of that amount.

An additional benefit of using the money on infrastructure would be the boost to the local economy and the employment situation as the state recovers from the pandemic.

And there should be a sunset clause, say 10 years. Voters could then re-authorize the 6% distribution if it is shown that it has led to measurable results.

Since future generations will ultimately pay a cost for our spending today, if the proposed increase makes its way into practice let’s use the money wisely in long-lasting, visible and measurably impactful ways.