Public school spending suit can continue, judge says

Watchdog claims funding is inadequate; case scheduled to go to trial June 12

A state district judge in Santa Fe ruled Monday that the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty can continue its lawsuit against the state claiming that funding for public schools is inadequate.

Judge Sarah Singleton’s decision sets the stage for a two-month trial this summer that could forever change the way schools are funded by state government.

But Singleton also said the Center on Law and Poverty must do more than point to abysmal test scores to prove the state is violating the state constitution when it comes to allocating sufficient funding public schools.

Lawyers for the state Public Education Department asked Singleton to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it is up to state lawmakers and the education department, not the court system, to determine what is sufficient funding. Singleton disagreed. While she refused the dismissal, she did not give the plaintiffs a summary judgment, as they requested.

If the Center on Law and Poverty wins the case, the Legislature may have to allocate more money for public

education, a move that school districts and advocacy groups have said would improve student achievement. Public schools already receive the lion’s share of state funds. A proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 would give public schools $2.7 billion of the state’s total budget of $6.1 billion. That is about 44 percent of the total budget.

Both sides received an earful from the judge as she considered their arguments and pared down the case.

Stephen Hamilton, a lawyer for the state, told Singleton that many of New Mexico’s impoverished students, including those studying English as their second language and Native American students, cannot learn despite the best efforts of teachers because of problems at home. Singleton didn’t accept his argument.

“That doesn’t mean you are off the hook,” she said.

When Hamilton said the state and federal governments are already pouring extra money into programs to help these students, Singleton said that doesn’t necessarily mean New Mexico is meeting its constitutional responsibility for public education.

She also disagreed with the Center on Law and Poverty’s attorneys when they said poor academic achievement rates by New Mexico students are enough to prove their case that funding for schools is insufficient.

Singleton rejected their logic, saying their reliance on their ratings “is not good enough.”

She said the state’s efforts to improve education must be taken into account, and she wants to hear expert testimony and see more data during the trial. It’s scheduled to start June 12 and run until mid-August.

Singleton ruled against the Center on Law and Poverty on a separate issue, throwing out its request that she consider imposing a new series of academic measures for New Mexico based on the Rose Standards. They are named after a 1989 Kentucky case involving education funding. Those broad standards state that students must display an array of skills, including oral and written communication and a knowledge of political, social and economic issues.

Both sides agreed that the state’s educational statistics are depressing. Based on the most recent standardized test scores, fewer than 28 percent of the state’s students are reading at a proficient rate, and fewer than 20 percent achieved proficiency in math.

Even so, they painted different pictures regarding the failings.

Attorneys for the Public Education Department succeeded in persuading Singleton to look beyond test scores and consider what the agency is doing to help students learn. They also said reform actions are in place to increase proficiency rates and support impoverished students. One example they pointed to was the state improving its high school graduation rate from 63 percent in 2011 to 71 percent today.

But lawyers for the Center on Law and Poverty said the state’s measures are not working well enough. They cited statistics from 2015 showing that fewer than 14 percent of Native American fourth- and eighth-graders in New Mexico are reading at grade level.

“It’s hard to see these test results and not feel pretty discouraged, isn’t it?” Singleton asked one of the state lawyers at one point.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a similar suit against the state over inadequate funding for education in April 2014. Singleton has consolidated that case with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty’s suit.

The pretrial conference in Singleton’s courtroom started just two days before state lawmakers convene for a special session on the budget. Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed all funding for colleges and universities and the Legislature itself. The state budget is still not balanced because Martinez also vetoed a bill to cover state spending with up to $300 million in higher fees and taxes. But funding for public schools is still likely to account for nearly half the state budget when it’s finally in place.