Albuquerque Public Schools board passes largest budget to date despite enrollment decline - Noah Alcala Bach, Albuquerque Journal
The Albuquerque Public Schools is set to spend more than ever despite an enrollment decline of more than 20,000 students over the past decade after its budget for the upcoming school year was approved Wednesday.
The district’s Board of Education approved a $2.25 billion budget for the upcoming school year on a unanimous vote, marking a roughly $104 million increase from the previous year and topping the $2.16 billion approved for the 2023-24 school year, which previously held the record for APS’ largest budget.
“I really have to give credit to our budget team, primarily for getting this work done at the same time as schools were planning, and I think it’s one of the first times I’ve seen that really work in conjunction,” APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey said during Wednesday’s board meeting. “I think this might be the earliest we’ve ever submitted a budget to the Public Education Department.”
The budget now goes to the PED for approval.
Operational costs, which cover day-to-day needs such as teacher and faculty salaries, supplies and the costs to operate schools, accounted for $1.08 billion — nearly half the budget. Capital outlay, covering construction and building maintenance costs, is allocated some $660 million, the second-highest expense in the budget.
“Just like for families, inflation has also hit school districts,” Mandi Torrez, education reform director for the self-described nonpartisan think tank Think New Mexico, told the Journal. “It’s not a bad thing when budgets see a growth to meet those needs, because the last thing anyone wants to see are essential student services like counseling or special education support being cut to make up that difference.”
The cost per pupil is jumping from around $32,000 during the 2024-25 school year to $35,000 for the upcoming year as the district faces a $4.7 million deficit and projects student enrollment below 65,000. But that deficit is covered by reserve funds, according to the district.
“The budget has continued, as it has in recent years, to be bloated. They’re still not delivering the outcomes that students need, the quality of education, which is the primary objective of the existence of Albuquerque Public Schools,” Patrick Brenner, president and founder of the Libertarian think tank Southwest Public Policy Institute, said. “Students continue to leave, enrollment is down, they’re educating less students for more than ever before.”
While APS enrollment has dropped since the pandemic, the trend isn’t out of line with districts across the country. Since the pandemic, enrollment in U.S. public schools has gone from 50.8 million in 2019 to 49.6 million in 2025.
“One question to ask is if student enrollment is declining, are districts in turn decreasing their administration numbers?” Torrez said. “So getting as many dollars down to the classroom level, where daily instruction takes place, should be a priority.”
Inspector General’s COVID bonus report sparks renewed political clash - Justin Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
City Councilor Dan Lewis has once again called for a federal investigation into Albuquerque’s use of COVID-19 relief funds.
The request is nearly the same as one Lewis made in January. But this time, the recipient is different. Lewis asked recently appointed U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Ryan Ellison to investigate the city five months after the city’s Office of Inspector General found that some $300,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money was used for questionable bonuses, something the mayor’s office has disputed.
Lewis said he renewed his call since the office had new leadership. Alexander Uballez, the former U.S. Attorney now running for mayor, stepped down after Donald Trump’s election. The president then appointed Ellison, a former assistant U.S. attorney for New Mexico in Las Cruces, to lead the office.
“It’s very clear that our Inspector General found some very problematic conclusions from her investigations,” Lewis said. “Because these are federal funds, and because the U.S. attorney would normally investigate things like this, I think it’s appropriate for them to take a look at it.”
Mayor Tim Keller’s administration has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the Inspector General as “little more than an opinion writer.”
“This Inspector General lost credibility long ago. Her own oversight board — made up of legal and accounting experts — has repeatedly flagged her for misrepresentation, lack of peer review, audit violations, and clear bias. At this point, she is little more than an opinion writer who has dragged her office into the depths of rumor and factless interpretation,” Dan Mayfield, spokesperson for the city, told the Journal in an emailed statement.
When reached by phone, Inspector General Melissa Santistevan said her office would not respond to the comments from the mayor’s office.
The money in question was a portion of the federal funds Albuquerque received from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. ARPA was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill meant to accelerate the country’s recovery from the pandemic and subsequent recession.
Specifically, the OIG raised concerns about child care stabilization grants, which provided financial assistance to child care providers to alleviate unforeseen expenses related to the pandemic and stabilize their operations.
The OIG’s report was completed in October. It concluded that the city’s Family and Community Services Department issued $280,000 worth of bonuses to 27 employees between 2021 and 2023. The report found at least 10 recipients, including top managers, received nearly $20,000 each.
However, the same report was not approved by the OIG oversight committee, which had appointees from the mayor and City Council. The Accountability in Government Oversight Committee said the OIG “lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the city’s Inspector General ordinance to investigate one or more of the allegations” but did not explicitly recommend disciplinary action.
A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson confirmed that they had received Lewis’ complaint. However, they said the office could not confirm whether they had launched an investigation.
As Albuquerque awaits, NM National Guard readies to launch Operation Zia Shield — Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
With just a few weeks before more than 70 New Mexico National Guard members hit the streets of Albuquerque, top law enforcement officials involved in planning the unusual deployment insisted it will not be military occupation of the state’s largest city.
During a Wednesday news conference at the National Guard headquarters in Santa Fe, Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina expressed confidence about the operation that’s expected to fully begin around Memorial Day weekend.
“There is no intent of a military presence in Albuquerque,” said Medina, who reiterated the National Guard members deployed on the mission, officially called Operation Zia Shield, will not carry guns, wear fatigues or be authorized to make arrests.
In all, 71 members of the National Guard will be deployed as part of the mission, which was authorized last month by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham upon a request from Medina. In making the request, the police chief said it would free up Albuquerque Police Department officers to fight crime. Medina has said the guard members would do auxiliary duties for APD — like direct traffic and secure perimeters — so not as many officers will have to.
Of the guard members being deployed, 53 are from the Albuquerque area, said New Mexico National Guard Adjutant General Miguel Aguilar.
“It’s our community,” Aguilar said during Wednesday’s news conference. “We’re from this community.”
But some local residents remain concerned about how the operation will play out, especially in Albuquerque’s International District along East Central that has seen high rates of open air drug use and homelessness in recent years.
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, who represents a legislative district that encompasses the area, said in a recent interview that not all area residents were on board with the plan.
“I’ve got concerned constituents,” Stewart told the Journal. “I hope what the governor and the mayor are trying to do works.”
The National Guard deployment has drawn national media attention, while also generating criticism from prominent New Mexico Republicans like state GOP chairwoman Amy Barela, who said Lujan Grisham was “giving cover to a Democrat-run city entrenched in crime.”
However, APD officials have cited statistics showing a drop in Albuquerque’s homicide rate so far this year compared to 2024.
The arrival of National Guard troops could help sustain that trend by freeing up police officers from routine tasks, Medina said Wednesday.
“I’m at the point of my career that I’m not afraid to stick my neck out and try something outside the box,” Medina said.
In preparation for the deployment, the National Guard members who volunteered for the assignment have undergone extensive training in recent weeks. Some of that training includes self-defense tactics and responsible use of force, said New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler, whose agency assisted with the training.
“We want to make sure the guardsmen have the ability to protect themselves,” Weisler said.
While they will not carry firearms, the deployed National Guard troops will carry pepper spray for self-protection, just as police aides do, Medina said. He also said they would carry Narcan, which can be used to reverse an overdose of fentanyl or other opioids.
During a Wednesday crisis intervention training session that was open to reporters, National Guard members sat in a conference room responding to questions from a psychologist about ways to interact with individuals dealing with mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder.
Several of the National Guard members present for the training said they signed up for the mission out of a sense of community duty.
“It’s an opportunity to help the community and that’s why I volunteered,” said Staff Sgt. Alfonso Deocampo of Bosque Farms.
Meanwhile, Aguilar said the New Mexico National Guard would still have the capacity to respond to any wildfires, flooding or other natural disasters that might occur in the coming months. He also said the Albuquerque operation would not interfere with plans to send National Guard troops on overseas humanitarian missions.
Iron Fire now 10 percent contained, and reduced by almost 100 acres thanks to rain — Daniel Montaño, KUNM News
Firefighters received help in battling the Iron Fire currently burning in the Gila National Forest thanks to rainy weather over the last few days.
As of this morning, the fire is 10% contained and has been reduced in size by almost 100 acres, to 822 acres total, according to a press release.
Hotshot crews have successfully mapped and checked the fire perimeter and are working to mop up hotspots to reduce potential spread.
Temperatures in the area are forecast to rise in the coming days which could complicate firefighting efforts, and engines remain engaged, and are finalizing a contingency plan should conditions worsen.
The snow lake area remains closed, including the boat launch and trailhead and Dipping Vat Campgrounds.
The fire was sparked on Sunday close to noon, and by that evening had grown to more than 900 acres fueled by strong winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour.
New Mexico lays out timeline for rebuilding behavioral health system — Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s top adult mental health services official on Wednesday laid out a timeline for rebuilding the state’s systems for addressing mental health challenges, including substance use disorder.
At a public health conference in Albuquerque, Health Care Authority Behavioral Health Services Division Director Nick Boukas detailed how mental health treatment will change as a result of New Mexico enacting Senate Bill 3, known as the Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act.
Boukas said his division will work with the Administrative Office of the Courts to divide the state into behavioral health regions and “investment zones,” each of which will identify five behavioral health priorities over the next four years.
The priorities will come from feedback from local communities, including local public health councils, local behavioral health collaboratives and advocates, Boukas said.
“We want you at that table so that we can make it better,” Boukas told the crowd gathered at the conference. “We know that one size does not fit all.”
Boukas’ comments came during the Community Collaborative Forum hosted by the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils, at which hundreds of people — including state agency heads, state lawmakers and public health researchers — met in person and online to debrief this year’s legislative session and prepare for potential federal funding cuts.
In the recent legislative session, New Mexico allocated $4 million for health councils in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Lt. Gov. Howie Morales gave the event’s keynote address during which he said the funds mark the biggest ever investment of state funds in health councils.
Health councils’ advocates have struggled in recent years to receive funding from state lawmakers. Morales said when he was still a state senator, he remembers “not all health councils were able to survive” funding cuts the Legislature enacted.
“I believe in preventative measures,” Morales said. “We can talk about all of the back-end issues that we deal with — crime, homelessness, substance abuse — but if we continue to invest like we just did, this $4 million, you work on it on the front end, the investment pays off in multiple ways.”
According to a timeline Boukas presented at the forum, last week AOC began providing HCA with monthly updates on the regional plans.
On Monday, HCA hired Kristie Brooks, a former federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration official, as the state’s director of behavioral health transformation and innovation. Boukas said she will help him implement SB3.
“She understands rural communities, tribal communities, behavioral health and how we make all that work together,” he said.
By June 1, the Behavioral Health Services Division will provide AOC with behavioral health standards and service evaluation guidelines, according to the timeline, and by the end of this year, the state’s Medicaid program will establish a group of licensing boards to help streamline mental health providers’ credentialing.
Planning meetings will be public
SB3 repealed the old Behavioral Health Collaborative, which will be replaced with the new Behavioral Health Executive Committee, who will be responsible for implementing the new law, Boukas said.
The executive committee will include the Health Care Authority cabinet secretary, the Behavioral Health Services Division director, the Medicaid program director, the AOC and the Legislative Finance Committee, he said, noting that AOC is vetting three behavioral health experts to also work on the committee, and their appointments will be announced soon.
The committee will hold meetings open to the public in Santa Fe and online every quarter, and report back to the LFC, Boukas said.
The Behavioral Health Trust Fund created in Senate Bill 1 will start paying out in July 2026.
The money must be equitably shared between each region’s priorities; may be used for projects up to four years in length; may be used to cover people without health insurance; and up to 5% of it can be for emergencies like mental health services during disasters like wildfires, Boukas said.
By June 30, 2027, the executive committee will find a responsible government entity in each region to write progress reports on gaps in care and services provided, and hand them over to LFC, according to Boukas’ timeline.
“This isn’t just a blank check that’s going to go out the door,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re turning these into measurable outcomes.”
Also on June 30, 2027, the state’s Medicaid program is expected to establish a universal behavioral health provider enrollment and credentialing process for Medicaid, according to the timeline.
Then on July 1, 2027, HCA will analyze gaps in behavioral health care to inform the regional plans, and then repeat the analysis every two years thereafter, the timeline states.
Boukas said he expects many regions to have the same top three priorities already found in health councils’ community health improvement plans: access to care, behavioral health and substance use disorder.
When Boukas asked the crowd if he was missing anything, someone shouted out, “Housing!”
“That’s in here too,” he responded. “But we want you to tell us where we need that housing, and what type of housing. So we need you at this table, we want you at this table.”
New Mexico health department reports measles spread to fifth county — Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico health officials on Wednesday reported the first measles case in Curry County, afflicting an infant, and warned of possible exposures last week at a social services office and Walmart.
Additionally, three more measles cases emerged in Lea County, bringing New Mexico’s case total to 71.
Health officials have now diagnosed measles in five counties: Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana, Eddy and Lea.
“Seeing measles in a new county underscores the need to remain vigilant and get vaccinated,” NMDOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said in a statement. “It also serves as a reminder the measles outbreak in New Mexico isn’t over. We urge New Mexicans to make sure their vaccination records are up to date.”
Between Feb.1 and May 3, 23,706 New Mexicans received a vaccine, nearly double the 2024 rate of 12,985 during the same time frame. Two doses of the vaccine can provide 97% protection against measles infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Measles, a highly contagious respiratory virus spread through contact with droplets from an infected person talking, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms can take one to three weeks to appear, and people can spread measles before showing a fever, red eyes, cough, headache or the spotty red rash.
Health officials said people at the following locations may be exposed to measles:
- April 30, from 10:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at the WIC Agency, 1216 Cameo St. in Clovis.
- April 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Walmart, 3728 N. Prince Street in Clovis.
- May 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Firehouse Subs, 3734 N. Grimes Street., Suite. A in Hobbs.
- May 4 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bob’s Thriftway, 904 Avenue D in Lovington.
The current United States measles outbreak is the worst in 30 years, with cases reported in 30 of the 50 states and in Canada and Mexico.
Across New Mexico, school nurses say they remain on alert for measles cases, while working to build trust with parents about vaccinations.
After the outbreak first began in mid-February, one of the first things Desiree Smith, a school nurse in Portales for the past 15 years, did was reach out to parents of unvaccinated children.
“We wanted to let them know the process if their child was exposed, or has the measles,” Smith said, noting that the latest guidance from NMDOH is for unvaccinated children to not attend school for 21 days from the last exposure. She said depending on the district, plans would need to be in place for remote learning during that period.
“We did have a couple of parents who had their children vaccinated after I explained the dangers of measles, obviously, the exposure time and time away from the classroom,” she said.
School nurses in New Mexico are responsible for reviewing students’ vaccine records, which are required by state law to be up to date. New Mexico, unlike other states, does not allow for “personal or philosophical exemptions,” but does allow for religious or medical exemptions, which must be updated every year.
Smith, who is also the director of the New Mexico School Nurse Association, said educational health providers are both potential first responders to an outbreak and play a crucial role in addressing the falling vaccine rates furthering spread.
“Since COVID we have had we have seen a lot more vaccine hesitancy,” Smith said.
According to NMDOH data, New Mexico exemption rates are rising. Taos County has the highest exemption percentage at 3.35%, followed by De Baca County at 2.96% of students and Harding C
Smith said she and other school nurses received guidance from the state health department in February to reach out to parents with exemptions, and alert them about the measles outbreak. Smith, who also sits on the board of the National Association of School Nurses, said the larger goal is to keep kids healthy enough for school.
“As school nurses, we just want what is best for the children, we’re trying to make sure they are safe, healthy and ready to learn and that time out of the classroom is minimized as much as possible,” she said. “Vaccination is one of the best ways to do that.”
The NMDOH Measles guidance page can be accessed here.
State grants $2.3 million for New Mexico recreation, conservation projects — Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
On Thursday, the New Mexico Economic Development Department awarded more than $2.3 million to 15 outdoors projects, including a mountain bike jump park in Santa Rosa, restoration of Gila trails burned by wildfire and a children’s garden in Santa Fe.
The projects span 14 counties and promote outdoor access and conservation stewardship, Outdoor Recreation Division Director Karina Armijo said in a statement to Source NM.
“The Trails+ Grant program is increasing safe and inclusive outdoor access, especially in rural and historically underserved communities,” Armijo said. “It’s boosting local economies and is a long-term investment in quality of life for all New Mexicans.”
In total, the Outdoor Recreation Division has spent more than $28.7 million from the Trails Grant+ fund on 221 projects since the program started in 2020.
Elias Quinn, a mountain biker and member of Los Senderos de Guadalupe, told Source NM the nearly $100,000 grant will be used to plan and design a mountain bike park and trail system in an underserved part of the state.
“I just felt like there was a missed opportunity for Santa Rosa, just off Interstate 40, lots of people are stopping at the lakes,” he told Source NM. “I felt like a bike park could help attract more tourists.”
Àngel Peña, executive director for Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project in Las Cruces, told Source NM his group will use the $75,000 state grant to restore trails and start a community education program in the La Mancha Wetlands. The nonprofit has owned the four-acre area, which has water in pools year-round, for several years.
“We’ve been doing what we can on a shoestring budget, and this is really the first real investment we’ve been able to secure for the specific project,” Peña said. “The state is truly investing in its local community down here.”
The grant will also help develop a resource management plan, Peña said, and then aid trail crews to start building new paths for youth hiking programs.
A new round of Trails+ Grant funding will open later this year on July 1, for $11.6 million in funding available. The state agency has more information about applications on its webpage at www.NMOutside.com.