Staff and Wire Report
UNM hit the jackpot Thursday when Gov. Gary Johnson signed two bills into law that give UNM staff and faculty salary increases and fully funds the Lottery to Success Scholarship.
Johnson had until noon Friday to sign bills before they would be automatically pocket vetoed. Thursday he signed UNM’s top legislative priority, which was to improve faculty and staff compensation.
The bill Johnson signed provides for a 7 percent salary increase for faculty and 6.5 percent salary increase for staff. The nearly $55 million measure is one of the most significant salary increases approved by the Legislature in recent history. It also provides for a pay increase of 6.5 percent for other state workers and judges.
The University Planning Council made budget recommendations to the Executive Cabinet based on the assumption that the measure would pass. Johnson’s decision sets the stage for Monday’s Board of Regents Finance and Facilities meeting at 5 p.m. in the Roberts Room, room 230, in Scholes Hall.
The committee will discuss funding for next year, including possible tuition increases, because the University’s budget must be submitted to the Commission on Higher Education by May 1.
Johnson also signed BelÇn Democrat Sen. Michael Sanchez’s Lottery to Success bill, which uses all lottery revenue to fund the scholarship. Currently, half of lottery proceeds — about $15 million per year — go to school construction, but all of it would be funneled to the tuition scholarship program under the new law.
New Mexico high school graduates who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average their first semester at a state college or university are eligible for the scholarship. Demand for the scholarships and rising tuition costs, have created a projected $9.1 million shortfall by 2003.
About 12,000 students are getting the scholarships, which pay full tuition to those who maintain a 2.5 grade point average.
UNM students, staff and administrators were concerned that Johnson would sign a more complicated lottery bill introduced by Rep. Luciano Varela, D-Santa Fe. Varela’s bill would have fully funded the scholarship, but also had a provision that the lottery scholarship could only be used as a last resort, meaning the University had to exhaust all other funding options before tapping lottery funds. If it had passed, Varela’s bill would have knocked out lottery funding UNM accepts even if students don’t need it and use it to fund other UNM scholarships.
Among other bills signed Thursday by Johnson:
l Fixing a possible constitutional flaw in property tax relief enacted last year.
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l Authorizing health care providers to treat teen-agers before, during and after they give birth without their parents’ consent.
l Requiring school districts to establish one- to three-year mentorship programs for beginning teachers, to help them make the transition from college to school classrooms.
l Permitting school districts to have flexible school calendars — a four-day week, for example, and longer school days.
l Requiring colleges to offer courses on teaching basic reading as part of teacher preparation programs.
