How much revenue does a student generate for a public school operating budget?
Parents, educators, and community members interested in learning about how public schools are funded in New Mexico may find this online calculator helpful. After a user selects the school district or charter school that a child attends and a few individual variables, the calculator will estimate the revenue the child generates for the school district or charter school. New Mexico law allows school districts and charter schools to decide with parent involvement how to spend their budgets, so long as they meet the requirements of law and department rules and procedures (Section 22-8-11(A)(2) NMSA 1978).
Clicking the link below will open a dialog asking if you would like to make a copy of the Google Sheet prepared by PED Policy and Legislative Affairs staff. Access to a Google account will be necessary for you to create your own copy of the spreadsheet.
Check for updates.
Please revisit the website periodically, as data and version dates are regularly updated for the calculator. If as owner of the spreadsheet you accidentally break the formulas, just delete your copy, and then open a fresh one.
How are public schools funded in New Mexico?
The operating budget of the typical New Mexico public school depends primarily (more than 90%) on estimates of per-pupil program cost and revenue distributed through the Statewide Equalization Guarantee (SEG), according to the 1974 Public School Finance Act.
Each year the legislature allocates billions of dollars of public money for the SEG. The Public Education Department (PED) then sets the unit value to be multiplied by various cost differentials and by the enrolled population of students at public schools. These formulas contribute to the calculation of each school district’s or charter school’s share of the statewide allocation based on the number of students and the unique needs of individual students. Each formula in the law has its own conditions and cost differentials, but nearly all of them directly relate to the population of enrolled students.
This calculator offers the student-centered perspective, closely estimating an answer to the question, “What program cost projections and SEG revenue would disappear from the budget without this child at this school district or charter school?”
Please let us know if making this tool has helped you feel informed and empowered as a citizen of New Mexico, and feel free to send us your questions or comments.