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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Hamilton

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/06

HB 9

SHORT TITLE WNMU Web-Based Teacher Preparation Program SB

ANALYST Earp

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$667.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED), Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 9 appropriates $667,000 from the General Fund to Western New Mexico University

(WNMU) to maintain the web-based teacher preparation program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $667,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

The sum of $213,800 was appropriated for this purpose in Chapter 34, Laws of 2005 (Senate Bill

190.) The Legislative Finance Committee funding recommendation for fiscal year 2007 has in-

cluded this amount as a component of a block-grant appropriation to NMSU for special project

expansion. The Executive also recommends continued funding at the $213,800 level as a sepa-

rate line-item appropriation. Therefore, approval of the appropriation in this bill would result in

the augmentation of the funding contained in HB 2.

House Bill 9 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This proposal was endorsed by the WNMU Board of Regents and submitted to the Higher Edu-

cation Department for consideration during the funding recommendation development process.

However, funding has only been recommended at the fiscal year 2006 base level of $213,800.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Public Education Department reports that this proposal could serve to support the Public

School Support Quality Performance Measure “to increase the percent of classes taught by

‘highly qualified’ teachers in all schools across the state” and a similar measure in the state ac-

countability plan for the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires that 100% of

core academic subject classrooms are taught by highly qualified teachers by the end of the 2005-

06 school year.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

WNMU currently administers the existing web-based teacher licensure program. No additional

administrative impact is anticipated if this legislation is enacted.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

This bill is related to an appropriation in House Bill 2. Funding for the web-based teacher prepa-

ration program has been recommended by LFC and the Executive for inclusion in the General

Appropriation Act.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

In addition to the appropriation contained in this bill, additional general fund resources would be

generated in future years through the higher education “Instruction & General” funding formula

based upon actual student credit hour enrollments in the teacher licensure program. No specific

estimate of the future formula impact of the program has been provided; however, this impact

would be substantial if the program is successful.

The web-based teacher licensure program in an ongoing program at WNMU. WNMU is en-

deavoring to reduce the teacher shortage in New Mexico by offering coursework through its

Network for Web-based Teacher Licensure (NeTL). This program offers an important distance

learning option that teachers can access online to complete course requirements for licensure and

endorsement. This option is particularly important for educators working in rural settings, dis-

tant from university and college campuses. The WNMU School of Education is particularly fo-

cusing on increasing access students in rural areas and for the Navajo Nation Teacher Education

Consortium, which is working to increase the number of Navajo teachers in secondary education.

ALTERNATIVES

If line-item funding is approved for this program, it should be provided on a start-up basis and

phased-out within two to three years as resources are generated through the I&G formula. Such

start-up funding could better be provided through the Program Development Fund established for

this purpose pursuant to Section 21-1-27.4 NMSA 1978.

DE/yr