LESC school safety panel emphasizes restorative prevention, local successes in Raton and Los Lunas; staff proposes $5M behavioral health and $50M capital outlay

Connor Hicks, LESC policy analyst, opened the school safety portion of the hearing by framing safety as rooted in relationships and belonging and introduced three local presenters. Darren Walter (Poms and Associates/New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority) argued prevention — relational and restorative practices — should be front-line efforts alongside physical security. "If you look at any after action report from police from school shootings, every single one of them had leakage behavior," Walter said, urging investment in early detection, threat assessment and mental-health resources.

Raton High School Principal Jolene Starr described a multi-year restorative approach begun in 2021 that reduced lost instructional days from 254 (school year 21–22) to 52 (23–24) and raised her 4-year graduation rate from 74 percent to an on-track rate of 82 percent for the most recent cohort. Starr described use of a "Zen Den" wellness room, student-involved disciplinary matrix revision and restorative circles involving families and partners.

Dennis Garcia (Los Lunas director of safety and security) described Los Lunas’ model of a school resource officer assigned to every school, community first-responder partnerships and an outreach program (Rocket) for elementary students. Garcia said his district uses a Stop It anonymous reporting application; the district reported daily monitoring and crisis referrals connected to tele-mental-health services.

LESC staff proposed targeted budget and policy steps: $5,000,000 in FY2026 for behavioral health supports via PED’s Office of Safe and Healthy Schools; drafting a 2025 bill to clearly define restraint and seclusion in K–12 settings; and considering $50,000,000 in FY2026 from the public school capital outlay fund to support both physical security and wellness-space infrastructure and furnishings. Staff also recommended allowing charters in publicly owned buildings to access such funding.

Committee members asked about the role of local school boards, equitable distribution of funds, effectiveness of Stop It (36 districts and 11 charter/community schools onboarded), hazing prevention and whether to elevate penalties for school threat hoaxes. Panelists said Stop It has helped identify mental-health crises and that community trust, consistent adult relationships and targeted supports are central to prevention.

The hearing closed for lunch with staff agreeing to follow up on suspension-rate analyses and other data requests.