APS finance committee recommends consent agenda including $42.85M Corrales K‑8 proposal, $28.6M in missing-equipment removals

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education Finance Committee voted Jan. 22 to recommend a consent agenda to the full board that bundles a $42,850,000 qualification-based proposal from Thompson Construction for the Corrales K‑8 project with multiple grant adjustments, inter- and intra-function transfers, donations, insurance premium adjustments, a benefits consulting contract and the removal of long‑unresolved missing equipment from district records.

The recommendation was moved by Board member Heather Benavides and seconded by Board member Reynaldo Tomorito; Chair Crystal Tapia Romero and the three voting members answered yes on a roll call to recommend the items for the board consent agenda.

Why it matters: the packet includes both large capital proposals and administrative finance actions. The Corrales K‑8 qualification-based proposal is the single largest line — $42.85 million — and the list also includes adjustments tied to federal recovery funds and internal reallocations. The committee also reviewed a fixed-asset action that would remove more than $28.6 million of equipment reported missing for two or more years, a figure committee members described as “shocking” but said had decreased from prior reports.

The items summarized for the committee and included in the recommended consent agenda were:

- Qualification-based proposal and easements: A $42,850,000 qualification-based proposal submitted by Thompson Construction for the Corrales K‑8 project, and delegation of signatory authority for necessary infrastructure easements to the board president and secretary. The proposal was presented by a district presenter introduced as Mr. Hakkas; Karen Allred was present to answer questions. The committee asked no follow-up questions during the presentation.

- Grant budget adjustments: Three grant-related adjustments presented by district staff included a mini-grant for the Music in the Community program at Dolores Gonzales Elementary School for $25,100; a Title III carryover amount of $666,361 for 2024–25; and an ARPA-related closing adjustment listed as $41,855,000 for 2024–25.

- Inter- and intra-function transfers: Multiple routine budget transfers for December 2024 were presented for approval. The packet included nine interfunction transfers in the operational fund totaling $37,000 (three using at‑risk funds, one using bilingual funds, five using A & L funds). The intra-function transfers requested approval of $1,100,000 in operational funds, $62,000 in transportation funds, $200,000 in food and nutrition services funds and $13,500,000 in capital funds, all described by staff as alignment and routine transfers.

- Gifts, grants and donations over $5,000: Two donations were presented for approval. The agenda text listed a $10,000 donation to La Mesa Elementary School and a $10,146 donation to La Cueva High School; at presentation Mr. Turnbull described the second donation with a different figure ($7,146). The committee recorded the agenda items and advanced them for board approval.

- Removal of equipment reported missing more than two years: Mr. Tony (presented as Mr.) Ellison, senior director of Capital Fiscal Services, told the committee the district’s fixed-asset inventory procedural directive and the Board of Education Policy for Fiscal Management require items missing for two years to be reported and removed from the district’s asset system and TIP Web. Ellison said the total value of items missing greater than two years is $28,604,966.64 and described new internal controls, including an APS technology inventory control team, an asset-management awareness campaign and a missing-asset form for sites and departments.

- Insurance premiums and consulting contracts: Staff requested an additional $652,000 for insurance policy premiums (pursuant to RFP 23‑076) and sought board-level approval for benefits actuarial and consulting services totaling $1,040,000 under RFP 25‑011. Staff said the earlier approval for insurance had been an estimate and this item finalizes the amount.

- December 2024 cash disbursements: Staff presented the district’s December 2024 cash disbursement report for committee consideration ahead of the consent recommendation.

Committee process and votes: The committee handled the items as a consent package rather than taking separate recorded votes on each line item. The motion to recommend the consent agenda was moved by Board member Heather Benavides and seconded by Board member Reynaldo Tomorito. On roll call, all three committee members present — Reynaldo Tomorito, Heather Benavides and Chair Crystal Tapia Romero — voted yes to forward the items to the full Board of Education as a consent agenda.

What the committee did not do: No individual item was pulled for extended debate at the committee level; the transcript records presenters summarizing routine adjustments and a brief presentation of control improvements for missing assets, but no separate substantive amendments or rejections were made in committee. Committee members asked few follow-up questions during presentations; one member described the missing-equipment total as “shocking,” and another noted the amount has declined from earlier reports.

Next steps: The Finance Committee’s recommendation will be considered by the full Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education as part of a consent agenda at a subsequent board meeting. The committee’s next scheduled meeting was announced for Feb. 26, 2025, at 8 a.m., to be held virtually.