TVI Employees Federation
Advocates for a Professional WorkPlace

NMFEE
NEWS & Views, 2nd half, 2002

 from NM Educational Employees (www.nmfee.org)

Highlighting the Special Session of the Legislature to pass Budget

Legislature passes 3rd state budget and then overrides governor's veto of it.  
 Special Session coming to Approve a Budget UNFRIENDLY to Education  
ABQ Tribune story about 'Extraordinary Session'  
 State Federation endorses Candidates                     May 8 E-News
Privatizing Public Education Op-Ed piece                 April 10 E-News      
 NMFEE calls for you to voice your opinion to news media

 

May 25, 2002                                                from the ABQ Journal

Mutiny at the Roundhouse
By David Miles, Journal Capitol Bureau

    SANTA FE — New Mexico legislators swiftly and surely overrode Gov. Gary Johnson's veto of a $3.9 billion budget Friday in a historic one-day session that will put the spending measure into effect without the governor's approval.

    In the first "extraordinary session" of the Legislature in state history, the Senate voted 36-4 to override the Republican governor and the House followed with a vote of 62-7. (read full article)

Provisions of New State Budget
The Associated Press

    Key provisions of the state budget passed by the Legislature in its extraordinary session Friday:

    * $3.87 billion in spending from the state general budget account in the fiscal year that starts July 1, which is less than 1 percent above current spending. The spending is about $8 million less than a previously vetoed budget proposal.

    * Reserves of about $383 million at the end of the next budget year, which is equal to almost 10 percent of spending. Gov. Gary Johnson's administration uses different accounting and contends that the reserves would be about 9 percent.

    * $1.8 billion of the general budget spending is for public education. The overall budget increase for education, including state aid, the Department of Education and special programs, is $2.6 million. or 0.15 percent. A budget vetoed in March would have increased spending by $10 million. (emphasis added, ed.)

    * $605 million for colleges and universities, which is nearly unchanged from the current year. Assumes colleges will collect additional revenues through 3 percent tuition increases.

    * No money earmarked for salary increases for public school employees, state workers or college faculty (emphasis added, ed.)

May 22, 2002

 Contact Your Legislators NOW!!  

PLEASE do not let your state representative and state senator go to Santa Fe on Friday, May 24 at 10 AM without receiving a message from you.   

PLEASE LEAVE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE ON THEIR VOICE MAILS AT HOME.   PLEASE SEND THE SAME MESSAGE ON A POSTCARD TO THEIR HOMES before Thursday !

MESSAGE:

"PLEASE restore the $2 million for educational employees' increased health insurance costs.

"I am a registered voter who lives in your district."
Bernalillo County: find your precinct and representatives OR click below
 ABQ Area:  Sens    Reps   Las Cruces
 Belen   Las Vegas
 Carlsbad   Los Alamos
 Chama
 Cuba
 Dulce
 Espanola
 Gadsden
 Gallup
 Grants
 Jemez
 Mesa Vista
 Mora
 Pecos
 Penasco
 Rio Rancho
 Santa Fe
 Socorro
 Taos

A flyer concerning Friday's 'extraordinary session' is now posted as a PDF file on the NMFEE website.  You will need Adobe Reader on your computer to open the file. Once the file is opened, you can print, copy and distribute it to your colleagues.

The flyer is located at #

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP.
May 21, 2002
NMFEE ACTION CALL
 An 'extraordinary' legislative session will occur Friday, May 24 at 10 AM.

If you haven't communicated with your state senator and representative yet, then you are running out of time!

PLEASE mail your postcards and make your phone calls NOW! Legislators are saying that they haven't heard from you!

PLEASE leave the following message on their voice mails at home.  PLEASE send the same message on a postcard to their homes before Thursday !

"PLEASE restore the $2 million for educational employees' increased health insurance costs.

"PLEASE take the $2 million from the Eagle Nest Lake money.

"I am a registered voter who lives in your district."

The 'compromise' budget does not have enough money to completely cover the 15 percent increase in health insurance premiums scheduled for October. We need approximately $2 million to totally cover the insurance increases.

We are asking legislators to amend the 'compromise' budget and take the $2 million for insurance from the money they have set aside to buy Eagle Nest Lake.

We are asking legislators to put this money into the education equalization distribution formula so districts will be sure to use it to offset the increased premiums.

Legislators are telling us, "Wait until next January, then we will take care of you." NMFEE president Christine Trujillo has told the House leadership that your needs are immediate and cannot wait until next year.

Christine has also invited key legislators to a 'extraordinary' luncheon on Thursday in ABQ to discuss the compromise budget. If your legislators pass this 'compromise' budget without the $2 million for insurance and the governor agrees, then education employees will receive smaller paychecks next school year.

The NM AFL-CIO has mailed a letter to legislators asking them to restore the insurance cuts for educational employees and state workers, too. NEA-NM is also sending a letter.

Click on the link below to read an ABQ Tribune story about the 'extraordinary' session.  #

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP.

 
May 14, 2002
Contact Your Legislators NOW!!  

A special session will happen any day now. House and Senate leadership say they have enough signatures to call themselves into a special session and pass a new state budget.

However, this new budget cuts education by more than $8 million! The cuts are in fixed costs like electricity and heating bills and other costs associated with opening the schools and keeping them open next year.

This new budget also cuts out the money that was in the previous budget to pay educational employees' health care insurance premiums. These premiums will increase by 15 percent come October.

This new budget does not contain any pay raises for school employees. However, this new budget appropriates $15 million to buy EAGLE NEST LAKE!

It appears that anglers and the corporations that own Eagle Nest Lake come before schoolchildren and educational employees.

If our legislators pass this new budget with these education cuts and the governor agrees, then all education employees will receive smaller paychecks next school year.

NMFEE is mailing a letter TODAY to each legislator asking them to vote against any budget that cuts education.

But, we must all fight together to stop these cuts!  You can help by contacting your legislators NOW. Legislators need to hear that you, your family members, and your communities do not support a budget that cuts education.

LEAVE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE ON THEIR VOICE MAILS AT HOME. TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TO ALSO SEND THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE ON A POSTCARD TO THEIR HOMES:

"PLEASE do not vote for a new budget that cuts education's fixed costs and employees' increased health insurance costs. 

"Instead, PLEASE override the governor's veto of the last state budget.

"I am a registered voter who lives in your district."

Click on the link below to get the PHONE NUMBERS AND HOME MAILING ADDRESSES of your legislators. #

Click on the link below to read an ABQ Tribune story about the education cuts. #

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP.
May 8, 2002                                                                    

SPECIAL SESSION COMING;
COMPROMISE BUDGET CUTS EDUCATION!

The House and Senate leadership are floating the budget compromise among legislators and the media to see if their constituents will swallow it.

The compromise budget cuts education funding by more than $8 million. The cuts are in fixed costs and employee insurance.

Of course, the compromise budget does not contain any raises for school employees.

However, legislators did manage to find $15 million of public funds to buy Eagle Nest Lake from private developers!

NMFEE recommends that you contact your legislators NOW.

Tell them that "Education Cuts Don't Heal" and any cuts in education funding will add to the crisis already facing New Mexico's public education system.

Legislators must hear from you, your family members, and the community NOW!

Tell them in no uncertain terms that education cuts are unacceptable and they should not vote for a budget that cuts funding for school children.

Please review NMFEE's last Roundhouse Report to refresh your memory about what was in the last state budget that the governor vetoed.

MESSAGE:
"PLEASE do not cut education funding in an attempt to satisfy the governor.

"PLEASE vote to override the governor's veto of the last state budget.

"I am a registered voter who lives in your district."

CONTACT THEM AT HOME NOW!

 
ABQ Area: find your precinct
and representatives		  Las Cruces
 Belen  Las Vegas
 Carlsbad  Los Alamos
 Chama  Mesa Vista
 Cuba  Mora
 Dulce  Pecos
 Espanola  Penasco
 Gadsden  Rio Rancho
 Gallup  Santa Fe
 Grants  Socorro
 Jemez  Taos


April 10, 2002                                                                    NMFEE E-News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The ABQ Tribune will print Christine's Op-Ed on the Political Economy of Educating Children, Saturday, April 13 (see full version below).

We continue to negotiate with the ABQ Journal regarding if and when it will print the op-ed. They requested a rewrite to shorten the piece, and we complied. Hopefully, they will print it this weekend, too. The rewritten version is posted on the website in place of the previous version. You might want to view it. Feel free to print and distribute to your members.   

SECOND REQUEST FOR LETTERS TO EDITORS
There were three (3) letters to the editor in today's edition of the ABQ Journal concerning privatization of public schools. We hope you are in the process of drafting your letters and will send them to the Journal and Tribune soon, as well as your own local newspapers. We have to take control of this debate.   

SECRETARY CALLS FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL CHOICE
Sec. of Education Rod Paige called for private school choice in his remarks Monday at the Hispanic Cultural Center. He also miscommunicated and misinterpreted a very important, meaningful quote from President Abraham Lincoln. It is very clear now that the Bush Administration is engaged in this coordinated effort to pave the way for Edison, Inc.   

BUDGET COMPROMISE ON HORIZON
The word is out that legislators have agreed on a budget compromise and are close to calling themselves into special session. Senate demos will caucus on Saturday. House demos will caucus Sunday in the NMFEE offices to discuss the super secret compromise budget proposal. Rep. Ted Hobbs, Republican House Minority Leader, told the press, "The governor is going to have to compromise on this budget." Mr. Hobbs has opposition in his reelection race, so he is a bit nervous, too.   

NEW LINKS

AFT's Report: Student Achievement in Edison Schools:
Mixed Results in an Ongoing Experiment

How 'No Child Left Behind' Impacts Your District

Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll on "Attitudes Towards Schools" 

Latest salary survey article from AP, "Salaries Fail to Keep Pace with Inflation"

April 8, 2002                                                                    NMFEE Press Release 

The Political Economy of Educating Children
by Christine Trujillo, president 
New Mexico Federation of Educational Employees, AFT/AFL-CIO

Sliding down the slippery slope of privatizing New Mexico's public schools has begun in earnest. On April 3, the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education agreed to put out to bid the management of 'low performing schools' by for-profit corporations.

Edison Schools, Inc., the nation's largest private educational management firm, was present at the board meeting. Edison representatives urged the board to move quickly. Federation representatives voiced concerns based upon Edison's past performance record.

On April 5, a committee of the State Board of Education met to draft language that would allow private corporations to bid on 'probationary schools' statewide. Edison, Inc. and other for-profit corporations were invited to attend the meeting.

The Federation must ask, "Why are policymakers and politicians so anxious to turn over our schoolchildren to these out-of-state profit centers?" Why the rush to experiment when decision makers have not exhausted local remedies? And, why should politicians want to give Edison, Inc. public tax dollars when its claims about improving school performance are not supported by the facts?

First, let's look at the local remedies politicians should try before giving private corporations public money to solve public problems. From our professional viewpoint, legislators and school boards are simply not investing enough resources in public education. That's the real reason for 'low performing' schools.

Since 1981, public education money, which depends on income and gross receipts taxes, has not kept pace with inflation. Adjusted for inflation, New Mexico's education dollar is worth just about as much as it was in the 70s. Recently, Sen. Kent Cravens said on a local radio show that the schools would have to get their houses in order before he would vote for more money. We would like to see how efficiently Sen. Cravens could run his new business on 1970 dollars.

The old saw, "...public schools get almost 50 percent of the state budget, therefore we won't invest anymore...", just doesn't cut it. It's like saying America can fight the new war against terrorism without investing more money in Sandia Labs or the military. It can't and won't happen.

If policymakers are sincere about fixing the 15 percent of New Mexico's schools that are not performing adequately, then they'll simply have to invest more money.

And, let's be clear about the number of public schools that are doing well, too. A full 85 percent of New Mexico's schools are performing at or above academic standards. That's a solid 'B' or 'very good' in our grade books. 

Professional educators, be they classroom teachers or school support personnel, know what must be done to help students who are not performing up to standards. Unfortunately, no one ever asks educators who work inside public schools what needs to be done, so we're going to tell you now.

In our humble opinion, so long as lawmakers have the responsibility of funding public education then they must find the money necessary to invest in quality education.

Policymakers, as well as legislators, are responsible for New Mexico's 47th national ranking in what it pays educational employees. They are also responsible for New Mexico's 27th national ranking in what it spends on schoolchildren. It is nothing short of a modern miracle that public educators are doing the great job that they are with such a small investment.

Increasing investments now so New Mexico can improve these two rankings will do more to help 'low performing' schools and schoolchildren than anything else.

In a marketplace governed by the rules of capitalism, we must accept the fact that higher pay will attract better-qualified educators thereby resulting in higher student performance. There is a direct correlation.

Hiring more qualified educators will create lower pupil-teacher ratios thereby resulting in smaller classes, more individualized instruction and improved student performance. There is a direct correlation. 

State-of-the-art educational materials, equipment and technology will add to student performance, too.

Newer and remodeled schools also will contribute to better overall student performance.

Finally, policymakers must move away from the old-world idea that standardized test scores are a meaningful student performance indicator. Better testing methods, such as criterion-referenced tests, must be used to measure what students actually know and need to learn.

Implementing the local remedies listed above will be very expensive. They will require an investment upwards of more than $500 million. Policymakers and legislators will have to find and invest this money now because these remedies are the only things that will get the job done.

However, turning over New Mexico's 'low performing' schools to for-profit centers like Edison, Inc. will not get the job done. The sooner lawmakers understand that, the less likely they will waste the public's money. All one has to do is take a look at Edison's claims and contrast them with the record.

Independent studies document that Edison schools perform at levels similar to their host districts, but fail to make the gains Edison's professional spin doctors claim. 

Study after study compared student test data from the Edison schools with data on schools in surrounding school districts as well as with state and national norms on standardized tests. Edison students did not perform as well as Edison, Inc. claims. In fact, Edison students' criterion-reference performance often lagged behind district performance and well below state standards, according to the studies.

(Editor's note: NMFEE has provided the ABQ Tribune and Journal with hardcopy of two extensive evaluations of Edison schools' performance record in other states. Newspapers readers can access these evaluations on the Federation's website, www.nmfee.org. When you surf to the website, click on the hearing, 'Edison's Record'. Briefly, the reports demonstrate that Edison Schools do not substantially perform better than public schools. But, read the reports and judge for yourself.)

In fact, the Edison schools tend to cut corners so they can earn profits and distribute them to their shareholders. This is, as President Bush's Secretary of the Treasury said, "The genius of capitalism." But is this what we want for our schoolchildren?

For example, Edison, Inc. hires novice teachers because they can be paid less than experienced teachers.

Edison Inc. also hires fewer educators so pupil-teacher ratios are higher in Edison schools. 

Edison schools are open for 200 days a year and have an 8-hour school day. Unfortunately, Edison, Inc. says it cannot compensate school employees, who must volunteer to work in an Edison school, for the additional work at their daily rates of pay.

Finally, there is a higher than normal turnover of Edison teachers and paraprofessionals.

These facts are just some of the reasons why Edison schools cannot get the job done, but reasons enough for policymakers not to invest the public's money in Edison, Inc.


Hot State Issues Archive (2002 Legislature)
top  

 Home     Member Benefits     Contacts