More Money

New Mexico Business Journal, Sept, 2000

In its annual report, the State Land Office notes that revenues generated in FY 1999 from royalties form the extractive industries and through the sale and lease of state land amounted to about $130 million. This was deposited in two state funds (which together, by the way, have assets approaching $10 billion, making it one of the country's biggest).

Smart choices made by the state investment office made it possible to distribute $254 million, 90 percent of which went to schools. This amount which puts the Lottery's $92.4 million over four years in perspective--includes distributions to universities, the New Mexico Military Institute, the Boys School, and the schools for the deaf and the visually handicapped, but the bulk of it ($197 million) went to public schools. That's money that we'd otherwise have to fork over in taxes, assuming we would wish to maintain the current level of funding--which many people believe simply isn't doing the job. Maybe we had better not complain too loudly about the spike in gas prices.