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

SPONSOR Nava

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/12/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE RE: Learning Program

SB 244

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$750.0

Recurring

General fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Department of Higher Education (HED)

Department of Public Education (DPE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 244 appropriates $750,000 from the General Fund to Eastern New Mexico University

(ENMU) for expenditure in FY08 to continue the Re: Learning program to support school

improvement in all grades of public schools statewide.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $750,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Re: Learning has been funded with General Fund resources to work toward educational renewal

in the state since 1989. Re: Learning provides technical assistance and professional development

to New Mexico public schools and districts. The program is non-prescriptive, working instead to

Senate Bill 244 – Page

2

meet each school’s individual needs for training as defined in its Educational Plan for Student

Success (EPSS). Re: Learning is organized to respond to the immediate needs of schools,

communities, and districts, providing service at no cost to the school or district. Offices for Re:

Learning is located in Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and Ruidoso.

Fully committed Re: Learning schools are those schools whose principal participates in the Re:

Learning Principals Leadership Institute. As a part of the commitment, Re: Learning staffs are

expected to be an important presence at the school site providing training, coaching, and

mentoring as needed. Other schools may access Re: Learning technical and budgetary assistance

for work which helps them meet the needs of their schools based on the EPSS.

Currently, Re: Learning focuses regional workshops on math concepts and writing in math

(demonstrated math understanding) that address student performance on standardized tests.

Training also includes dealing with different learning modalities. Schools needing to improve

their adequate yearly progress (AYP) have been targeted for services.

The proposal of $750,000 was not submitted to HED by ENMU and was not included in the

department’s funding recommendation for FY08.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

HED indicates that this program has been funded on an annual basis. Without funding, the state

would lose an important program that assists in ensuring students graduate from high school

better prepared to succeed in higher education.

GM/nt