New Mexico school leaders plead for more state funding

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Public school superintendents from across New Mexico are urging lawmakers to restore school funding cuts even if it means raising more money from taxes. Superintendents from more than a dozen rural and urban school districts of Friday urged members of the Democrat-led Legislature and Republican Gov. Susana Martinez to reach a budget compromise that increase school revenues at a news conference. The state Senate is considering a House-approved budget plan that would hold overall school funding steady in the coming fiscal year by collecting $250 million in new taxes and fees. The plan was opposed by Republican lawmakers and criticized by Martinez as out-of-touch with New Mexico values. Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia says classrooms are sure to feel the effects of recent cuts to revenues and reserves.