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LESC staff outline FY27 education budget with 80/20 health premium proposal and targeted student supports
Summary
LESC staff presented FY27 budget considerations that include a proposed 80/20 educator premium cost-share (estimated $74 million recurring), continued literacy funding, a $20M out-of-school-time proposal, and a three-year approach to high-impact tutoring funded by a $30M FY27 transfer to PERF.
LESC public school finance staff presented an initial set of FY27 budget considerations centered on educator compensation, instructional supports and whole-child investments. Daniel, who covers public school finance for the LESC, told members staff aligned the proposals with the committee's long-term roadmap and sought feedback before drafting final recommendations in November.
The proposals include a recommendation that the state ensure school districts and charter schools can pay at least 80% of health insurance premiums for all enrolled public school employees. "Your proposal from LAFC staff, that's $74,000,000," Daniel said when presenting the cost estimate for that change, which staff characterized as a recurring appropriation to the SEG to reach an 80/20 cost-share statewide.
Staff also recommended maintaining a $14,000,000 literacy appropriation and the PED request for a $5,000,000 operating line for a New Mexico Literacy Center in Albuquerque, while flagging questions about the center's long-term operating costs. On out-of-school-time programs, staff proposed increasing funding from $14 million in FY26 to $20 million in FY27 to expand access beyond the Rio Grande corridor.
High-impact tutoring was presented as a multiyear priority. Daniel said staff proposed appropriating $10 million per year over three years and noted that the FY27 request would be presented as a $30 million nonrecurring transfer into the Public Education Reform Fund, with $10 million distributed annually from that transfer.
On career and technical education, staff proposed holding targeted CTE below-the-line funding at $40 million while recognizing CTE is supported through multiple mechanisms, including capital investments and the recently revised state equalization guarantee. Summer internships were proposed at $10 million, unchanged from FY26, to support paid student internships with government and community organizations.
Members asked staff to clarify implementation capacity, outcome metrics and whether PED has the administrative bandwidth to scale OST and tutoring. Daniel and staff said they would work with PED and LFC staff to detail program design, costs and reporting requirements before returning to the committee with draft recommendations.
The committee took the presentation as an initial framework for negotiation and instructed staff to return in November with bill drafts and more-detailed fiscal estimates ahead of potential endorsements.
