After a few weeks of traveling across the state, the New Mexico Higher Education Department heard from colleges and universities that maintaining facilities has been a challenge.
Last year, the Legislature awarded the department $325 million in capital outlay funding, more than what it requested.
This funding does not necessarily mean constructing new buildings, but investing in what is already on campuses.
In a statement, Chairman of the agency’s Capital Outlay Committee Luis Campos said the state’s colleges and universities are experiencing, “A prolonged facilities crisis.”
"Chairman Campos is correct," said the agency’s Chief Financial Officer, Gerald Hoehne. "As we continue to have facilities around the state, those facilities also require funding in order to maintain them."
Hoehne said the capital outlay funds would also be well-spent renovating spaces to meet new and diverse needs and equipping facilities with the latest technology to better prepare students for the workforce.
He added that the funding is also crucial to make campus buildings safer to learn and work in.
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