Gov. seeks raises for teachers
Martinez: Who's going to foot the bill?

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — In his State of the State address before the New Mexico legislature on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Richardson proposed a 7.4 percent pay raise for teachers, bringing the minimum pay to above $30,000.

"This will bring us to No. 27 in the nation," he said.

"Quality schools begin with quality teachers in the classroom and this raise will help with highly qualified teachers," he said.

Grants-Cibola County School District Superintendent Kilino Marquez said that is good but he wondered who is going to fund the raise.

"This needs to be a funded mandate from the state. Gov. Richardson cannot expect every school district in the state to fund this raise, including the 5 percent for other school employees from their budgets," Marquez said.

"That money would have to come from somewhere else, and we don't have it," he said.

Marquez praised the governor for trying to do something for schools, but said there will probably be a compromise because of several other agencies and committees that become involved in educational funding.

If it is not funded by the state, it probably won't go as a 7.4 percent raise, because of the Legislative Education Study Committee, the Legislative Finance Committee, the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators, the New Mexico School Administrators Association and the teachers unions, he said.

The school district's payroll is about $20 million, Marquez said.

A 12.4 percent raise, including both the teachers and other employees' raises combined, would amount to about $2.5 million.

Different organizations will make different recommendations to the legislature, he said.

"The question is it's an intent, but how do we fund it?" Marquez asked.

Costs going up
"Every year the cost of business for the school district gets higher. Programs cost more to provide to students, the costs of upgrading facilities and computers coast more," he said.

Salaries are just one piece of the puzzle, he said.

The school district is currently involved in a $2 million renovation of San Rafael Elementary School, including classrooms and the cafeteria.

The district has received $1.3 million in funding from the recent bond election to build the classroom portion of a theater arts complex, but not the theater-auditorium portion, he aid.

"That part will cost another $5 million, and we are hoping legislation will be introduced by our local legislators to get us the money," Marquez said.

New gym not complete
The new high school gymnasium, a $7 million project is not done. Marquez said he originally was told that it would be completed by the middle of January which is today but it now will not be completed until the end of the month.

"I am concerned about the parking lot with all the rain and snow we have had," he said.

About pre-kindergarten programs, Marquez said there is currently no funding but that with portable classrooms and future funding from the state, that is an area to be pursued next school year, which is in the next budget year.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.