Albuquerque Public Schools will have less money to work with next fiscal year, but it is working on ways to lessen the disruption in services, budget officials told the Board of Education Wednesday evening.
District officials have said the budget will drop from $2.167 billion for the current fiscal year to about $1.9 billion for 2024-2025. The main source of the 12.3% decline is the loss of some $242 million in federal aid, which is an expiring pandemic relief grant.
It doesn’t look like the district will have to give back any cash, though. Rosalinda Montoya, executive director of Budget and Strategic Planning said that all but about $26 million of this year’s allocation has been spent, and she’s confident that it will all be used before Sept. 30, when it would have to be refunded to the state Public Education Department.
Dr. Gabriella Durán Blakey, the district’s chief operations officer and incoming superintendent, said that as the pandemic money came in, APS leaders chose to use it for one-time expenses and asked anyone requesting some of it for recurring expenses for a plan to keep those programs going after the grant expires.
She said APS will look at eliminating duplication of services, and that “guardrails” — the values of the community — in the district’s strategic plan make it easier to prioritize financial decisions in a non-biased way.
Four areas examined
Part of Blakey’s presentation included a look at how special education, food service, transportation and capital affect the budget.
Special education, Montoya said, has a budget of almost $270 million, 91% of which comes from APS operational funds, with the balance from the federal government. The operational portion is projected to increase by 2.9% to $242.6 million, she said, while the federal portion will remain at $26.4 million.
Food service represents $44.8 million, a decrease of about 1%. Data shared at the meeting shows that APS serves nearly 6 million lunches a year, along with almost 3.3 million breakfasts. The district also provides snacks and dinners in some cases and runs a summer food program.
District Chief Financial Officer Renette Apodaca said APS’ Transportation Department will receive $20 million to $21 million from the New Mexico Public Education Department, based on ridership. That amount is a slight increase. Apodaca said APS moves students 27,256 miles a day — more than 4.85 million miles a year.
Capital remains at $473 million. That part of the budget includes construction, renovation, maintenance or repair of school buildings or related equipment or personnel costs.
The budget will include a 3% raise for all employees, in accordance with legislation signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Getting food to students in need
Board member Josefina Dominguez expressed concern about food delivery, citing conversations with school nurses who are struggling to get snacks to students, particularly those in middle schools and with diabetes.
“The fruits go quickly,” Dominguez said, adding that diabetic kids then sometimes are left with sugary cereals as possible snacks.
She also said she’s concerned about the length students go without eating, especially among middle-school students who have a long day and spread-out lunch periods.
In response to a question from Dominguez, food service head Sandra Kemp confirmed that students aren’t allowed to get seconds during meal periods.
Kemp said students can take additional fruits and vegetables and schools have “share tables” at which students can leave unwanted (non-perishable) items that others can take for later snacking. She said a child would have to be charged for a second meal.
Dominguez said she worries about children going hungry and sees a need for creative solutions among adults on campus. She said that during her teaching career, she kept Ramen noodles in her closet for kids who were hungry.
Board member Heather Benavidez asked whether the menus can be changed to better reflect the diversity of APS’ student body.
Kemp said that the district offers about 24 different menus on any given day — reflecting various dietary needs — and it would be hard to adjust menus for specific areas of town. District-wide, she said, the menus present the opportunity for students to taste a variety of different ethnic foods.
Special education needs more
Dominguez noted that the special education budget is projected to remain flat, but the need at the school level seems to be increasing.
Bonnie Anderson, director of budget, data and synergy within special education, said there are slightly more students enrolled in special education, while overall enrollment in schools is going down.
Anderson said that the needs are still being covered through special education’s operational budget.
Board member Ronalda Tome-Warito asked whether there is any consideration of increasing the hours of teachers for the gifted program, as most are part-time employees.
Anderson said the budget includes flexibility to allocate money as needed so that there will be funds available to pay for full-time gifted teachers if the need arises and suitable candidates can be found.
An inconvenient bell schedule
During the meeting’s public comment period, parent Sharla Parsons shared with board members her concerns about the bell schedule, which she said is negatively affecting her family and others. Parsons said that the gap between elementary and middle school start times means that if she takes children to both schools in one trip, the middle schooler will be on campus for two hours before class starts.
She said she opts to take two trips, meaning that she can’t get to work before 9:30 a.m., but that many other parents don’t have the option of starting that late. Her two minutes of allotted speaking time ended before she finished.
“I’ll send you guys an email with more of my thoughts,” Parsons concluded. “But please, for the love of our children. Let’s think about changing that.”
How to Participate
The Board of Education next meets Wednesday, March 20 at 5 p.m. in the John Milne Community Board Room at district headquarters, 6400 Uptown Blvd. It will also be viewable on the APS Board of Education YouTube Channel.