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.
Shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, the House passed a budget. The $5.35 billion spending plan would trim spending by around $100 million with state agencies taking, on average, a 3 percent cut. K-12 education would be cut by 1.2 percent.
“This didn’t come in four or five days,” said Rep. Henry “Kiki” Saavedra, D-Albuquerque, and chairman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. “It took about two weeks to come up with what we did. This is the best bill we could come up with.”
But the 3 percent figure is only an average, and some agencies would be cut more than that 3 percent while others would suffer less. For example, Taxation and Revenue department would see a 4.2 percent decrease in funding from this year’s levels, according to a spreadsheet produced by legislative staff. And higher education would suffer a 3.5 percent cut.
K-12 public education, meanwhile, would endure a 1.2 percent cut. That figure is based on certain assumptions. The budget deal agreed to requires a 1.74 percent cut from K-12 education, with an assumption that Gov. Bill Richardson would appropriate $15 million in federal stimulus funds under his control to make up that loss of money. That allocation would return the cut to a level of 1.2 percent.
The state corrections department, meanwhile, would enjoy a slight increase in funding, according to the spreadsheet.
Although a slew of amendments were proposed during the late-night debate, only one survived. Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela’s amendment directs the state personnel office to review all authorized unfunded positions and agency vacancy rates and eliminate 1,900 positions before July 1.
Gwyneth Doland contributed to this report.
