Resource allocation

A high percentage of Baja California Sur’s budget is allocated to education, reflecting its status as a top priority for the state government.  In 2003, a variety of government-sponsored sources invested approximately US$5.25 million into building 214 structures, renovating 80 structures, and equipping an additional 64 spaces dedicated to educational purposes.  Further, in December 2003, US$2.84 million was allocated for additional programs (with an additional $785,176 being spent on pencils, notebooks, and teacher training) to improve educational equity and infrastructure.[1] According to SEPE’s former administrator, Prof. Víctor Castro Cosío (current Municipal President of La Paz), the federal government must pay for 500 teaching positions that the state government is currently covering to ensure that each classroom has a teacher. The annual impact of this federal unfunded mandate is USD$2.78 million.[2]

The state government’s response to students dropping out for financial reasons has been to increase the number of scholarships for the 2004-2005 year.  During that year, there were 23,718 scholarships (up from 23,102 scholarships in 2003-2004), and one out of every ten students had a scholarship.  There is also a special scholarship program for pregnant women and girls who have not completed their general education. Thirty-three percent of the state’s population is part of the education system, ranging from primary education to the graduate level.