New Mexico

Abstract

introduction New Mexico provides students 83.7% of the national per-pupil funding average, $11,841 ranking 36th nationally, spending on average $9,913 per-pupil, a decline from 2014, $10,547 (30th).1 In FY 2016 the percentage of funds toward education was 57.9% of New Mexico’s total general expenditures, 44.3% for public schools and 13.6% for higher education. New Mexico currently operates with a general fund estimated at $6.22 billion for FY 2016 an increase of approximately $69.6 million from FY 2015 and over $1.5 billion in the decade preceding FY 2016 [$4.7 billion (2006)].2 New Mexico relies heavily on state funds to operate its compulsory education system with Federal sources equaling $519,3183 while local sources make up $597,4194 of total revenue toward education. The state has increased combined K-12 and higher education funding over the past decade from $2.8 billion in 2006 to an estimated $3.6 billion in 2016, yet the finance system is still debated in the courts, and Education Week ranks New Mexico 49th overall in education.