Why tap the permanent fund for more education spending?

The New Mexico House of Representatives has passed legislation that would tap the State’s permanent fund for more education spending. Supporters claim that spending more money on K-12 is an “investment in the future.”

Regardless of the tenuous connection between education spending and results (New Mexico is in the middle of the pack when it comes to education spending, but at the bottom in results), the fact is that New Mexico’s education system seems to be mis-allocating resources. One thing is definitely true, according to a new report (see table 8) from the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, “New Mexico is one of 21 states that employs fewer teachers than administrators and other non-teaching staff.”

We certainly don’t have much use for the “Three Tiered Licensing System” which according to the Legislative Finance Committee “has not improved student performance with (increased) taxpayer investments in teacher pay.”

So, in conclusion, the proposed constitutional amendment would tap the permanent fund to the tune of $60 million annually (starting out) as a political payoff to the unions, nothing more, nothing less.