Finance subcommittee recommends board approve midyear budget adjustments, vendor payments

The Las Cruces Public Schools Finance Subcommittee on Feb. 27 reviewed a package of midyear budget adjustments, grant awards and vendor payments and voted to recommend board approval of the items as a consent agenda.

The subcommittee focused on midyear BARs that realign the district’s budget to audited transactions, covering operational adjustments, maintenance and transfers for student travel, supplies, equipment and additional compensation. Alex Saenz, budget director, told the subcommittee these are ‘‘midyear adjustments, which include our audit adjustments’’ that reconcile estimated budget entries with actual, audited activity.

Saenz said the packet includes 36 operational BARs with one decrease and eight increases, 23 maintenance BARs and four transfers. He described a memorandum of agreement tied to House Bill 2 (the 2024 legislative session) with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to support Future Farmers of America (FFA), funding travel, supplies and equipment for FFA activities. He also noted capital or equipment items at individual schools: a grill purchase at Centennial High School and a forklift and utility trailer for Mayfield High School to support career-technical education programs. The subcommittee discussed a $270,000 increase to athletics budgets; Saenz said most of that will be covered by audit-related position adjustments reflected elsewhere in the package and is intended to address rising travel, transportation and lodging costs for student teams.

Head Start staff provided a February budget update. A Head Start representative, Miss Barela, said regular salary and benefit expenditures continue and that the program had $2,070,734.28 on hand for the period. ‘‘Head Start is rocking and rolling, and expenditures are being made as they should,’’ she said.

Marlena Hartman and other staff answered questions about several federal and state grants in the packet. Hartman described an award routed through U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office to support career-technical education (CTE) equipment, curriculum and districtwide CTE expansion tied to the RDPI CTE center. Hartman said the district is still establishing budget authority and will submit reimbursement requests once the grants are in the system.

Board members asked for follow-up detail on several line items. Member Frank asked for specifications about the Centennial grill (a roughly $12,000 line item under carryover adjustments), and Saenz said the purchase is part of a carryover program that allows schools to use up to 90% of prior-year unspent balances to replace equipment and buy custodial items. Member Tenorio asked staff to compile recent Spaceport tax revenues for board reference; staff agreed to email historical revenue figures.

The subcommittee also reviewed the consolidated board report and updates from purchasing and accounting staff about fixed-asset barcoding, bus replacements and the district’s ongoing push to convert vendor payments from checks to ACH.

A single motion to forward the BARs, property dispositions (none reported), and vendor payments as a consent agenda item was moved by President Court and seconded by Vice President Nolan. The subcommittee recorded a roll-call recommendation to the board; staff recorded the motion as approved by the subcommittee.

Votes at a glance: the subcommittee recorded prior procedural motions earlier in the meeting (agenda and minutes approvals) and later recommended the BAR and vendor items to the full board; the consent recommendation passed in the subcommittee during the Feb. 27 meeting.

The subcommittee’s nonbinding recommendation will be considered by the full Las Cruces Public Schools Board at its next meeting.