On Tuesday, lawmakers will start tackling the state budget which is expected to include cuts to education. On Monday, talks of those cuts stirred up emotions for teachers, parents, lawmakers, and the governor. And Governor Susana Martinez has a new suggestion for educators -- start looking at what's happening in the principal's office. Martinez made it clear on Monday that she does not think Albuquerque Public Schools is doing enough to make budget cuts with principals. She made the comments Monday in Albuquerque at a press conference where she was laying out her plans for the upcoming session. The governor said principals are making three to four times more money than teachers and said the schools are still failing, and that APS has bloated administration and bureaucracy at every single one of its schools. "[The bureaucracy] refers to people who are not in the classroom teaching everyday. I want to make sure to secure the funding that goes into the classroom, teachers, and teacher aides. We want to make sure that funding does not get decreased," she said. Martinez went on to say that all school districts have a lot of fat to trim. "I can't imagine that any school district doesn't have a 1.5 percent cut that can take place in the bureaucracy, and that is all it will take for us to be able to cut those $30 million from the bureaucracy," she continued. APS School Board President Marty Esquivel says Martinez should visit a large high school sometime and see what the principals do on a regular basis. "there are a multitude of issues, disciplinary issues, academic achievement, social issues, a lot of stuff goes on at a high school, so I just don't think that cutting back on principals is a way to go." Said Esquivel. Governor Martinez says New Mexico is 49th in the nation in education because there is more of a focus on throwing money into the system, instead of simply improving student education. We contacted APS, they did not have a response to the Governor's comments.
