Las Cruces Public Schools finance subcommittee approves consent package; discusses Title I award, Head Start balances and vendor reporting

The Las Cruces Public Schools finance subcommittee voted 3-0 on June 16 to forward a consent package to the full board that included an award of a government-relations services contract, 35 budget adjustment requests (BARs), property disposals and vendor payments, while hearing updates on Head Start grant balances, a correction to Title I award figures from the New Mexico Public Education Department and questions about vendor payment reporting.

The subcommittee, chaired by Bob Wofford, met virtually and approved the items after a grouped motion that passed unanimously. The meeting included presentations from district finance and procurement staff and questions from board members about enrollment-driven payments, interest income and how ACH payments are reported.

The Head Start budget update showed the program’s on-paper balances before encumbrances but noted several expected encumbrances. The district reported a year-to-date balance of $626,619.74 “before encumbrances,” and a summary line showing $827,357.49; after encumbrances as of May 30 the available balance was $93,248.60, the presenter said. A staff member also reported that indirect costs of $164,665 have been fully charged.

Board members asked follow-up questions; staff said remaining payments will be processed in the closing rounds of grant reimbursement requests.

Procurement staff recommended awarding RFP 24-25-08P for government relations and lobbying services to Bolzano Government Relations of Albuquerque. The solicitation was advertised May 11, closed May 22, and attracted one bid; 17 vendors viewed the solicitation online. Purchasing manager Cesar Chavez told the subcommittee that Bolzano did not submit a New Mexico resident preference certificate and therefore did not receive vendor-preference points. Chair Wofford said he was on the evaluation committee and therefore would not participate in the full-board vote on that item.

Members spent extended time on the district’s budget-adjustment requests (BARs). Finance staff reported 35 operational BARs for the regular consent package (14 transfers, 11 maintenance and 10 increased bars). Staff said many increased bars reflected revenue exceeding earlier estimates and that transfers were used to align payroll and summer-program costs.

Board members pressed for detail on several large BARs. Staff explained one transfer related to the Graduate Alliance program: the district recorded payments across two fiscal years because Graduate Alliance’s contract structure splits payments between the 80th- and 120th-day milestones; the district moved about $2,209,000 related to that program between fiscal years to match enrollment and payment timing. For another set of BARs, staff said $290,000 reflected higher-than-expected indirect-cost revenue and about $805,000 was added after stronger-than-expected investment interest earned by placing funds with the State Treasurer’s Office.

A significant discussion focused on a Title I award correction from the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED). Staff said PED initially provided an award letter that showed an allocation of roughly $13 million (including anticipated carryover); the district did not increase spending based solely on that optimistic figure, but PED later revised the award downward to about $11.1 million, producing a $1.2 million reduction in the district’s OBMS (Online Budget Management System) figure. The presenter described the adjustment as an administrative error at PED and said district staff worked with finance to ensure services will not be interrupted; the superintendent said the district requested that PED “hold LCPS harmless,” which PED denied.

On vendor payments, the district reported total non-payroll disbursements for May of $14,406,241, with $2,000,005.73 (17.9%) paid by check and $11,000,008.33 (82.1%) by ACH. Purchasing and accounting staff answered board questions about several large or recurring payments: a large payment for New Mexico State University’s STEM out-of-school-time work (described as district-sponsored programming), pass-through payments to charter schools tied to GRT revenue, a payment to Lorenzo’s on University for a Las Cruces High School swim-team banquet, recurring copier maintenance to PTS Office Systems and media and recruitment services to NMCO Media. Staff also explained that SHI-related payments provide backup/redundant storage for district servers.

Board members asked why some high-dollar ACH transactions do not appear on the district’s “over $10,000” checks report. Staff explained that the district’s financial system (Vision/School ERP Pro) has limited legacy reporting for ACH transactions and that the current “over $10,000” report lists accounts-payable check payments only. Staff committed to adding an ACH-over-threshold report for board review.

The subcommittee received the district’s third-quarter financial report (quarter ending March 31, 2025). Staff reported an operational cash balance of $40,300,000 and a cash position of $44,700,000 for the operational fund; total cash across all funds was reported at $164,900,000 with a cash position of $175,100,000. For the quarter, operational revenue was reported at $73,700,000 with year-to-date operational revenue of $225,300,000; operational expenditures for the quarter were $74,100,000 and year-to-date operational expenditures were $224,700,000. The consolidated board report for May showed year-to-date operational spending at 83.89% of budget and signs of higher compensation and benefits spending.

Staff also briefed the subcommittee on administrative and audit work: an internal access audit to ensure segregation of duties, the upcoming fiscal-year audit (June–Nov. 2025) and a vendor-portal migration from the district’s prior vendor registry to BinNet to expand vendor reach.

Votes at a glance - Motion to recommend board approval of: award of RFP 24-25-08P (government relations and lobbying services to Bolzano Government Relations); budget adjustment requests (BARs) for June; property dispositions; and vendor payments — Passed, 3–0 (Chair Bob Wofford, Board member Frank voted yes, Vice President Nolan voted yes).

What’s next - The items approved by the subcommittee will move to the full board for final action at the regular meeting. Staff said they will add an ACH-over-threshold report to addresses board reporting questions and will continue grant closeout work and end-of-year encumbrance processing.