Committee reviews grant budget adjustments and inter/intrafunction transfers; board members seek clearer school-level movement

Miss Renette Apodaca and Miss Rosalinda Montoya presented a series of grant budget adjustments and interfunction/intrafunction transfers during the Aug. 27 finance committee meeting. Miss Montoya explained that mid-region council grants (Mercog GRO appropriation numbers 1 and 2) were entered as two-year projections but were fully expended by June 30, 2025, requiring budget corrections to reflect actual allocations. "When budgets were entered, they are projections. And now that we have the actual allocations, we are processing corrections for budget decreases for the 2 year implementation of state direct grants that incurred. And the reason we're doing this is because we used up all of it in 1 year," Montoya said.

Committee members asked for assurances that transfers do not reduce support for high-need students. Board member Josefina Dominguez asked whether interfunction transfers shift funds away from high-need students or programs that support Native American students, Spanish-speaking families, English learners and students with disabilities. Montoya and Superintendent Dr. Blakey said interfunction and intrafunction transfers do not change the district’s total budget; rather, they move budgeted dollars between categories or functions to match actual operating needs. Montoya said such transfers require supervisor signatures and are aligned to board goals. Dr. Blakey said schools retain site-based autonomy to adjust budgets to serve current-year needs and that staff will consider higher-level trend reporting before next year’s budget cycle.

Dominguez asked about a specific line item for Van Buren Elementary on page 33; Montoya said that entry was a cleanup and that other items affecting multiple schools appear in the broader intrafunction package. Staff described one school-level example where funds budgeted for professional development were reallocated to a math teacher position because assessment data indicated classroom instruction was the higher priority.

Mr. Ellison presented a separate item: a requested statement of budget adjustment decrease of $10,094,827 tied to the New Mexico Public Education Department’s (PED) final revenue allocation for S.B. 9 for fiscal year 2025–26. The committee recommended placing the grant adjustments and transfers on the consent agenda for full-board approval; a motion to add the meeting items to the consent agenda was seconded by Board Member Heather Benavides and approved by roll call at the committee level.