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

SPONSOR Kernan

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/10/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE

ENMU Core Curriculum Framework

SB 697

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$400.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB-68/SB-211, HB 317

Relates to appropriations in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Office of Educational Accountability (OEA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 697 appropriates $400 thousand from the general fund to the regents of Eastern New

Mexico University for the purpose of processing core curriculum framework applications and

distributing funds for program implementation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $400 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall

revert to the general fund.

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.

Senate Bill 697 – Page

2

The General Appropriations Act contains significant funding for Advanced Placement and Pre-

Advanced Placement which could be used for the purposes addressed in this bill.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

SB-697 removes responsibility for implementing this program from PED and places it with

Eastern New Mexico University.

The bill also provides for a competitive process for distributions based on responses to requests

for proposals from school districts.

The Core Curriculum Framework is designed to provide high-quality curricula to students in

Kindergarten through sixth grade in order to support pre-advanced placement and advanced

placement coursework in grades 7 through 12.

PED currently manages New Mexico’s Core Curriculum Framework initiative, but the “hub" of

Core Curriculum is still situated in Hobbs where it was first implemented in 1998, where the

program has been instituted district-wide. PED staff speculated that the intended move to

Eastern New Mexico University would bring the Core Curriculum initiative closer to the area of

the state where it is currently concentrated. Conversely, one of the unintended consequences of

this move could be that districts in other areas of the state have limited access to Core

Curriculum support.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

SB-697 does not seek to significantly expand the funding of Core Curriculum in New Mexico,

but moves administration of the program and flow-through of funds to districts from the PED to

Eastern New Mexico University. It is unclear how this shift will impact districts’ implementation

of the core curriculum framework.

ALTERNATIVES

An alternative to SB-697 would be for PED to continue oversight of the program.

PA/mt