Las Cruces Public Schools previews $353 million preliminary budget, emphasizes safety, health and classroom resources

Las Cruces Public Schools officials on an evening town-hall presented a preliminary FY25–26 budget totaling about $353 million and discussed priorities that district leaders say will emphasize campus safety, student health and instructional resources.

Deputy Superintendent Chengy Alex Liu said the district’s year‑round, “bottom up” budget process — driven by school‑level committees, parents, staff and a facilitator — produced record participation, including substantial student input. “If I can change a lesson plan based on student feedback, I can change a district budget based on student feedback,” Liu said.

District Budget Director Matthew Saenz gave a numeric snapshot: the working FY25 budget stands at roughly $341 million and the preliminary FY25–26 proposal is about $353 million, an approximately 3% increase. Saenz said the district is still finalizing figures with the New Mexico Public Education Department and does not anticipate major changes but expects some minor adjustments.

Why it matters: district leaders said the proposed shifts would direct a larger share of dollars to classroom functions — about 77% under the preliminary plan — and fund safety and wellness projects residents prioritized in the community survey. Saenz and Liu repeatedly framed the plan as driven by site‑level priorities collected over a year of outreach and a ThoughtExchange survey facilitated by Dr. Barbati.

Major categories and amounts presented - Safety and related projects: FY25 safety projects (reported completed) were estimated at about $2.1…