APS finance committee approves consent agenda including $11.7M in transfers and multiple $500,000+ purchases

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education Finance Committee voted unanimously April 23 to approve a consent agenda that bundled grant budget transfers, intra- and interfunction transfers for noncategorical funds, disposal of equipment and furniture, several district purchases each exceeding $500,000 and the March 2025 cash disbursements.

The consent agenda included $11,700,000 in operational transfers, $48,000 in transportation funds, $761,000 in transportation enterprise funds, $3,000 in facility enterprise funds, $57,000 in athletic funds, $5,300,000 in capital funds, and $1,000,000 in the self-insurance reserve; technology marked for disposal totaling $1,307,400.15; and multiple planned purchases or services priced at $500,000 or more, including electrical services, firewalls and network equipment, on-call HVAC services, a multi-year purchase of high-quality eBooks and audiobooks from OverDrive for all grade levels, a district device refresh, a new GPS system for school bus transportation to replace an 11-year-old platform, and external financial auditing services.

Why it matters: the package moves routine budget alignments and large procurements to the full board for final approval through the consent agenda, clearing the way for contracts and fiscal year-end closings. Several items—including the large operational transfers and capital moves—affect the district’s near-term spending authority and procurement pipeline.

Details and discussion

Presenters described the transfers as routine year-end alignments and grant realignments. For the March grant interfunction transfers, staff said the most notable adjustment was a pre-K alignment allowing a slightly higher indirect cost rate approved by the Early Childhood Care and Development authority (ECCD). For noncategorical funds, detailed totals were presented by finance staff: $11,700,000 (operational), $48,000 (transportation), $761,000 (transportation enterprise), $3,000 (facility enterprise), $57,000 (athletic), $5,300,000 (capital) and $1,000,000 (self-insurance reserve).

On equipment disposal, the district’s technology inventory identified devices with a combined book value of $1,307,400.15 to be taken out of service and disposed of “in accordance with our state statute,” a staff presenter said.

Board members asked few substantive questions. Board Member Josefina Dominguez asked about the external audit services and whether the district was switching auditors. Dominguez said, “So I’m just curious. Are we switching our auditing? The the company who does the audit services now, or is this a separate?” Finance staff replied, “Yes, we are going to a new auditor by, the state auditors regulations. We have to switch every, I think it’s every 4 years. So we had completed our cycle with our previous auditor.”

Votes at a glance

- Motion to adopt the April 23, 2025 Finance Committee meeting agenda — Mover: not specified; Second: not specified; Roll-call vote: Reynaldo Tumorito — yes; Heather Benavides — yes; Josefina Dominguez — yes; Crystal Tapia Romero — yes; Outcome: approved.

- Motion to approve minutes of the March 26, 2025 Finance Committee meeting — Mover: Board Member Heather Benavides; Second: Board Member Josefina Dominguez; Roll-call vote: Reynaldo Tumorito — yes; Heather Benavides — yes; Josefina Dominguez — yes; Crystal Tapia Romero — yes; Outcome: approved.

- Motion to recommend consent agenda items for full board approval (includes all items listed above: transfers, equipment disposal, purchases over $500,000, and March 2025 cash disbursements) — Mover: not specified; Second: not specified; Roll-call vote: Reynaldo Tumorito — yes; Heather Benavides — yes; Josefina Dominguez — yes; Crystal Tapia Romero — yes; Outcome: approved and recommended to board consent agenda.

What wasn’t decided

The committee voted to bundle and forward the listed items as a consent agenda to the full Board of Education; individual contracts and purchases still require final board approval when the consent agenda is considered by the full board. Staff did not present procurement vendor names, contract durations, or specific line-item vendors for the large purchases during this meeting; those details were not specified in the committee record.

Meeting context and next steps

The committee met virtually; presenters were primarily district finance and operations staff and Superintendent Dr. Blakey. The finance committee listed the consent items for consideration and, after brief presentation and limited questions, moved them forward as a block. The committee’s next scheduled meeting is May 28, 2025, at 8 a.m. (virtual).