Hobbs Municipal Schools asks Lea County for $19.55 million to finish two middle schools

Hobbs Municipal Schools presented a request to the Lea County Board of County Commissioners for $19,549,718 in local capital funding on Aug. 21 to complete construction of two new middle schools.

"The capital funding request from Hobbs Municipal Schools to Lea County is for $19,549,718," said Gene, superintendent of Hobbs Municipal Schools, during a detailed presentation of enrollment trends, project history and funding options (SEG 352–356). The district said both middle schools were designed at 126,000 square feet to serve roughly 750 students each and that the state initially agreed to that design but later approved a smaller footprint.

Why it matters: Hobbs schools told the commission that middle‑school enrollment has grown sharply — the district cited a roughly 42% increase in middle‑school ranks and said three existing middle schools were operating at about 115% capacity. District officials said the growth and programming needs (special‑education space, career and technical education, required PE capacity and staffing levels) drove the original square‑footage requirement and that reducing the footprint would undermine those needs.

What the district outlined: Officials said the district secured voter approval of a $50 million bond in November 2023 (72% support) to fund the projects and identified a construction manager at risk. The district reported escalation in estimated costs during design work and noted the Public School Capital Outlay Council ultimately agreed to $14,000,000 — leaving an unmet need the district quantified as $19,549,718 (SEG 441–446, SEG 581–586, SEG 642). District staff described local sources already committed, including $50,000,000 in bonds, $11,000,000 from district reserves and about $6,600,000 attributed to maintenance excellence, leaving the stated remaining deficit.

Options and schedule implications: Presenters told the commission that redesigns or delay to reduce square footage would likely push the opening of one campus from August 2027 to August 2028, and could leave completed buildings sitting vacant while boundaries are rezoned. As an alternative, the district proposed building the envelope and leaving some spaces unfinishe d ("shelling out"), which would save an estimated $6,000,000 but would not provide the additional usable capacity needed to relieve overcrowding or allow planned rezoning (SEG 591–660, SEG 646–656, SEG 651–655).

District capacity and maintenance: The district said its maintenance practices earned a 97% state maintenance rating — the highest in New Mexico — and that those practices have extended the life of older facilities. Officials also described a "local match waiver" mechanism and argued that, despite local tax effort (they cited a mill levy of about 11.7 mills), the state funding gap remained significant because of square‑footage and program disagreements with the PSCOC staff (SEG 491–499, SEG 531–538).

Questions and next steps: Commissioners asked about staffing ratios (the superintendent said about 21 students per certified staff member), alternative funding sources and apprenticeship and staffing pipelines the district has created with workforce partners. The presentation closed with an invitation to follow up; district officials asked the county to consider the local funding contribution to avoid schedule delays and unmet program needs (SEG 870–878, SEG 737–746, SEG 611–616).

The commission did not record a vote on the county allocation during the presentation; staff and commissioners asked follow‑up questions and encouraged additional information-sharing. The district requested that commissioners consider the identified $19,549,718 unmet need so construction can proceed on the stated schedule.

Ending: District officials said they would stand by to answer additional commissioner questions and provided contact points for follow‑up. The next procedural steps and any formal county funding decision were not taken at the Aug. 21 session.