I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The House’s budget committee narrowly shot down legislation to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into New Mexico’s public schools, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. The legislation would have raised the state’s gross receipts tax a half-cent, increased income taxes and increased the compensating tax rate to pay for the increased funding.
Related to that vote, the Albuquerque Journal reports that New Mexico’s spending on public schools has risen by 57 percent. For those of you who do not have a subscription, here’s an excerpt of the story:
New Mexico is spending about $949 million more on K-12 public education today than eight years ago, an increase of about 57 percent.
That figure could jump significantly if state lawmakers approve a proposed new funding formula and a $360 million tax hike to pay for it.
Meanwhile in the same general time period:
The number of students in New Mexico public schools has remained relatively stable, growing by about 3,000, or 1 percent.
Graduation rates appear to have changed only slightly, and according to the most recent statistics available are still around 65 percent.
Teacher salaries are up considerably.
The number of public school employees has increased by 14,064 full-time equivalent employees since the 2000-2001 school year, an increase of more than 67 percent.
The percentage of the state budget spent on public education has slipped by 3 percent.
The budget figures were generated by the state Department of Finance and Administration, while the figures for employees and enrollment came from the Public Education Department.
White Sands Missile Range is hosting NASA engineers who are testing a system that will pull the crew of the Orion spacecraft to safety if there’s an emergency on the launch pad or during the opening minutes of flight, The Associated Press reports. Orion is the spacecraft that is planned to take astronauts back to the moon.
Meanwhile, the Los Alamos National Laboratory appears positioned to receive a chunk of change from the federal stimulus package, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. If passed, the federal legislation would appropriate $97.2 million for LANL’s Chemistry and Metallurgy Replacement Facility; $44.6 million to upgrade the nuclear-stockpile security system, including Los Alamos’; and $19.3 million to rebuild the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center accelerator.
