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

SPONSOR Varela

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-25-05

3-17-07 HB 947/aSFC

SHORT TITLE Qwest Settlement of “NM STRONG" Project

SB

ANALYST Aguilar/Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$5,000.0

Nonrecurring

Qwest Settlement

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Conflicts with HB 938

Relates to HB201/CS, HB68/CS, SB209/CS and SB68/CS

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SFC Amendment

Senate Finance Committee amendment to House Bill 947 reflects the following language:

1. On page 1, line 25, after "project" insert ", a statewide project that includes at least

twenty-five schools identified by the public education department as needing

additional technology resources such as computers for students".

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 947 appropriates $5 million from the Qwest amended settlement fund to the Public

Education Department for the purpose of implementing and executing the “New Mexico

STRONG project.

House Bill 947/aSFC – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $5 million contained in this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the Qwest

amended settlement fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of

fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the Public Regulation Commission and be used for refunds to

Qwest customers.

The LFC remains concerned with funding initiatives outside of the funding formula as it tends to

disequalize school funding and diverts funding away from core educational needs.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

STRONG is the acronym for Students and Teachers Reaching Optimal New Goals.

House Bill 947 effectuates Section 3 of the Second Amended Settlement Agreement that Qwest,

AGO, GSD, NM Internet Professionals Association and PRC Staff signed and that became

effective through PRC order on Feb. 1, 2007. This is designed to assist low performing schools,

primarily in poor rural and urban areas, to improve their computer teaching programs and student

computer literacy performance.

Contained is a comprehensive plan inclusive of the following:

•

Hardware and other related equipment

•

Professional development

•

Program evaluation

•

PED staffing (2 FTEs) and administrative budget

•

A computer learning management system.

LESC reports that for the first year of implementation, the department breaks out the $1,666,667

appropriation in HB 947 as follows:

•

$1, 090,000 to purchase laptop computers;

•

$85,000 for E-rate costs;

•

$102,000 to fund two PED positions (one secretary 3 and one educational consultant);

•

$18,787 for monitoring and administrative costs; and

•

$370,880 to fund Achieve3000, a web-based, individualized reading comprehension

learning program.

•

For year two, the PED budget includes $1,604,666 in costs and $61,999 carryover balance

into year three, and

•

For year three, PED indicates $1,728,666 in costs (includes $61,999 carryover from year

two)

Identified in the budget are two positions for PED; an Educational Consultant O and a Secretary

3 for the three-year period of this proposal. In addition to salaries, the budget allows funds for

PED to administer the project inclusive of travel for monitoring, evaluation and data gathering

and providing support to participating school sites. Any necessary contractual costs would also

be paid through this line item.

Funds to support costs for the E*Rate are also included in this proposal. Funds will provide

statewide assistance in leveraging federal technology reimbursement dollars. This would be

House Bill 947/aSFC – Page

3

available to all districts for assistance in applying for the federal E*Rate-eligible

reimbursements.

According to PED, the STRONG project will target 6,761 seventh- and eighth-grade students

at 12 selected school improvement/restructuring sites, which appear to meet the goals of the

STRONG project:

•

Albuquerque: Tohajiilee Middle School

•

Central: Newcomb Middle School

•

Central: Tse’bit’ai Middle School

•

Gadsden: Chaparral Middle School

•

Gadsden: Gadsden Middle School

•

Gadsden: Santa Teresa Middle School

•

Gallup: Tohatchi Middle School

•

Gallup: John F. Kennedy Middle School

•

Gallup: Toreau Middle School

•

Santa Fe: Edward Ortiz Middle School

•

West Las Vegas: Valley Middle School

•

Zuni: Zuni Middle School

PA/mt