SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 30

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Cynthia Nava

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY COUNCIL TO RESEARCH ISSUES RELATED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARENT OR FAMILY CENTERS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF INCLUDING THEM IN THE STATE'S PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY ADEQUACY STANDARDS.

     WHEREAS, in a 1999 lawsuit filed by the Zuni public school district, state district judge Joseph L. Rich found the state of New Mexico to be in violation of its state constitutional requirement to establish and maintain "a uniform system of public schools sufficient for the education of, and open to, all of the children of school age in the state" in the way the state funded public school capital outlay expenditures; and

     WHEREAS, the judge ordered the state to establish and implement a uniform funding system for capital improvements of New Mexico school districts and for correcting past inequities; and

     WHEREAS, in response to the judge's order, New Mexico changed the way in which the state funds public school capital outlay expenditures by making extensive amendments to the Public School Capital Outlay Act; and

     WHEREAS, prior to 2001, public school capital outlay funding was primarily the responsibility of each local school community with the provision of state funding limited only to those districts with "critical" needs as defined in statute; and

     WHEREAS, beginning in 2001, legislation was enacted to phase in a new method of funding public school capital outlay expenditures that uses a standards-based approach and a state-share formula based upon a local school district's property tax wealth and its local effort; and

     WHEREAS, one of the cornerstones of this new, equalized funding system is a set of adequacy standards adopted by the public school capital outlay council prior to September 1, 2002 and required to be used to evaluate and prioritize public school capital outlay projects after September 1, 2003; and

     WHEREAS, state funding can be used only to pay for capital outlay expenditures that allow school facilities to meet these adequacy standards; and

     WHEREAS, school districts that wish to construct facilities that exceed state adequacy standards must do so with locally generated funding; and

     WHEREAS, within the past five years, nearly thirty local districts have established so-called "parent" or "family centers" in schools that serve low-income students, many of whom come from homes in which English is not the primary language; and

     WHEREAS, research shows that these students are often most likely to drop out of school; and

     WHEREAS, research also shows that parent involvement in their children's education is one of the most predictable factors in student success; and

     WHEREAS, parent or family centers in schools that serve low-income students have proven not only to help students be successful in school, but also to provide a venue for parents to interact and work with other parents and for students to interact and work with other students and parents; and

     WHEREAS, many already overcrowded schools have no space available in their current facilities to provide parent or family centers; and

     WHEREAS, very often schools that serve low-income students are located in districts with low property tax valuations and are unable to generate much local funding; and

     WHEREAS, these schools or districts must rely primarily on state funding to remodel or construct facilities; and

     WHEREAS, schools that most need parent or family centers to serve at-risk youth, as well as their families, cannot include these centers in the remodeling or addition of any new facilities because parent or family centers are not included in the state's adequacy standards;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public school capital outlay council be requested to research the issues related to the establishment of parent or family centers in certain public schools and to study the feasibility of including them in the state's adequacy standards; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public school capital outlay council report its findings to the public school capital outlay oversight task force and the legislative education study committee by December 1, 2006; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the chair of the public school capital outlay council and the director of the public school facilities authority.

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