Finance committee recommends consent agenda including grants, transfers, equipment disposal and multiple procurements

The Albuquerque Public Schools Finance Committee moved to recommend a bundled consent agenda to the full Board of Education on March 26 that included grant budget adjustments, February intrafunction transfers, equipment and portable disposals, donations, a $20,499,000 RFP recommendation for Taylor Middle School, and multiple district purchases or expenditures that equal or exceed $500,000.

Committee members began by approving the meeting agenda (with the removal of item 5.15) and the minutes from the Feb. 26, 2025 finance committee meeting by roll call. Chair Crystal Tapia Romero offered the consent‑agenda listing for board consideration; the motion to recommend the consent agenda was seconded by Board Member Heather Benavides and carried on roll call with members Benavides, Josefina Dominguez and Chair Tapia Romero voting yes.

Items included in the consent recommendation were: the Johnson O'Malley 2024–25 allocation in the amount of $1,280,000; school bus camera funding for FY25; structural literacy program funds and incentives; addition of Los Perdiz to a Start by La Luz funding list; February 2025 intrafunction transfers for grant management; a reported $10% year‑over‑year improvement in grant spenddown noted in committee discussion; intrafunction transfers for noncategorical funds (including $13,500,000 in operational funds and $10,700,000 in capital funds); statements of equipment to be taken out of service (technology equipment listed at $6,360,529.22 and a “sandwich department” listing at $802,926.62 in the transcript); statement of portables to be taken out of service for March; three donations ($15,000 to Valley High School baseball, $9,000 to Volcano Vista High School for assistant coaches, and $6,000 to West Mesa High School from Educators Rising New Mexico); a recommendation to approve the Bradbury Stamm RFP for Taylor Middle School in the amount of $20,499,000; and several district purchases/expenditures that equal or exceed $500,000 (paving and related work materials on call; facility maintenance, repair, operation and industrial supplies; legal services as needed with an estimated four‑year spend of roughly $15,000,000; pest control services; E‑Rate Category 2 cabling for moves/adds/changes). The committee also recommended approval of the February 2025 cash disbursements.

Staff presenters identified that equipment and portable disposals would be handled "in accordance with our New Mexico state statute." Several presenters described routine transfers (salary alignments and final closing entries for fund 29131 from the NM Department of Health) and staff said nothing out of the ordinary was found in the submitted materials. The procurement items were presented for committee review and placed on the consent list for board approval; the committee did not act individually on each procurement item.

Ending: The finance committee voted to adjourn after confirming the next committee meeting on April 23, 2025 at 8 a.m. and advising the public the meeting can be watched on the APS Board of Education YouTube channel.