Three ABQ Dems won’t support education cuts

‘It’s my estimation that in the House Democratic caucus there is not the stomach for cutting any education at all,’ Rep. Mimi Stewart says

Sens. Cisco McSorely and Tim Keller and Rep. Mimi Stewart, all Albuquerque Democrats, say it’s time to raise taxes to curb the state’s widening budget shortfall. And all three are trying to prevent cuts to education in the current special session.

They vow they won’t support Gov. Bill Richardson’s proposed 1.5 percent cuts to school funding. Instead, they want to find revenue raisers, including tax increases.

But a Senate committee on Sunday rejected as not germane several revenue-raising bills. Though the governor’s special session proclamation specifically states that lawmakers can’t consider “measures reducing salaries or raising tax rates, reducing or eliminating tax credits, rebates, exemptions, or deductions, or imposing new taxes,” some say the governor’s proclamation isn’t appropriate.

Some even say it’s unconstitutional, but, apparently, the majority of the members of the Senate committee that decides whether bills are germane don’t agree.

Stewart said Richardson told the Democratic caucus he would consider revenue-raising bills in the January regular session.

“So, what we are trying to do is get out of this special session without any cuts to education,” she said. “Come January, the governor said he would look at all the revenue bills.”

McSorely said revenue-raising measures need to be implemented now.

“I don’t trust the people who say we should put it off to a regular session,” McSorely said. “I have never known a Republican to vote for a tax increase in the regular.”

Keller called the idea of cutting education but not raising revenue “irresponsible fiscal budgeting.”

“We have a budget crisis.  No one can deny that, and it’s forecasted to be worse,” he said. “So for me, whatever we can do to help that is germane. I don’t really buy any other argument, regardless of what’s on a message or otherwise, that somehow both sides of the equation — income and expenditures — are not germane.”

Poll supports efforts of Stewart, Keller and McSorley

The efforts of Stewart, Keller, McSorley and others have the backing of education groups throughout the state, whose position may have been bolstered by the results of a Research & Polling, Inc. survey conducted for New Mexico Education Partners.

That poll shows that 81 percent of New Mexicans think the stage budget should be balanced “without cutting public school funding.”

Nearly 75 opponents of education cuts met inside the capitol on Saturday, ahead of the start of the special legislative session, to discuss the new poll and to urge legislators to avoid any cuts to education funding.

Stewart told the crowd that there are a number of Democratic House members who will not vote for education cuts.

“It’s my estimation that in the House Democratic caucus there is not the stomach for cutting any education at all,” she said.

The president of the American Federation of Teachers union, Christine Trujillo, told the crowd that the governor’s new proposal, released on Saturday afternoon, is unacceptable.

“They absolutely have to listen to this or their heads are in the sand,” Trujillo said. “Every single issue that we have talked about for months and months and months to the Legislature and to the governor about making sure they fund education adequately and sufficiently is resonating with the public.”

McSorely, who’s been in the Legislature for 26 years, said he believes there are 22 votes in the Senate to support some sort of tax increase. He said any increase implemented now wouldn’t take effect until February 2010 and he doesn’t want to wait until the regular session in January to consider revenue raisers.

‘More money in the classroom, less  on bureaucrats’

But not everyone agrees that education shouldn’t be cut. Paul Gessing with the Rio Grande Foundation also spoke in the rotunda on Saturday. He said New Mexico spends less on education — at least in the classroom — than the top five states in the country.

“New Mexico, contrary to popular belief, spends a lot of money on education. We have the eighth highest per capita spending on education in the country. There’s plenty of administrators and other highly paid folks we can look at getting rid of,” Gessing said.

“We have proven that bureaucracies actually harm education results,” he said. “The top five states in the country, as far as results, spend about 65 percent of their money in the classroom on education, whereas the bottom five, of which — surprise, surprise — New Mexico is a part… we spend 59.5 percent in the classroom.”

‘A heap of trouble’

On the other hand, Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks said the budget can’t be balanced by cutting waste alone.

“I’ve worked in APS now for almost two years and I just don’t find the waste that most people think exists there. In fact, our general administration budget is less than 1 percent. You can’t cut that and balance any budget,” Brooks said.

The superintendent of the state’s largest school district, Brooks said lawmakers will “definitely” have to look at revenue enhancements, but said APS might be able to handle cuts up to 3 percent.

“We have a plan to try to keep our cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.  If it’s any more than 3 percent, we’re in a heap of trouble,” Brooks said.

Brooks said lawmakers who claim raising taxes will hurt their re-election chances should take a close look at the new poll.

“They all say they can’t raise taxes because it will hurt their election. If that be the case, then I would think they would pay some attention to this poll that says if they do cut education their election is in jeopardy,” Brooks said.

Photos and story by Peter St. Cyr, who is a contributing writer for this site and an Albuquerque radio reporter. He can be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com. Heath Haussamen contributed to this report.