SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico state Senate is debating a constitutional amendment that could increase funding for early childhood and K-12 education by hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Passage would be a victory for Democrats who have tried to increase the withdrawal of funding from the Land Grant Permanent Fund for over a decade. The measure would increase withdrawals from the fund by 1.25%, with most of the money going to early childhood education and some going to K-12 schools.
The state’s $20 billion endowment has doubled in the past 11 years thanks to oil and gas royalties and market investments. Critics say future revenues could fall.