Grant cut forces APS to trim summer program

Ten schools will no longer offer K-3 Plus

Albuquerque Public Schools has scaled back a popular summer program for math and reading enrichment after losing roughly half of its state grant allocation, but the Public Education Department argues that APS could find other funding sources to make up the difference.

District spokeswoman Johanna King said that administrators were forced to drop K-3 Plus at 10 schools and cap total enrollment because PED reduced its grant money from about $7 million to $3.7 million. As a result, several thousand students will not be able to participate.

“This has always been funded through the grant, and we have never budgeted for it,” King said. “We just got this information last week — that our programs would be cut. We hadn’t planned for it and didn’t expect it.”

With the reduction, K-3 Plus will be available at 47 schools across the district, rather than 57. In addition, enrollment is limited to about 2,000 students.

Last year, roughly 4,900 kids took part in the free 25-day summer program, which provides math and reading enrichment for kindergarten through third graders.

APS announced the change on school websites last week and blamed the state’s funding cut.

“We realize that many of you count on the K3+ program for your children, and may already be making summer scheduling and day care plans around K3+ schedules,” the message said. “We wanted you to know as soon as possible for this reason. These NMPED cuts to K3+ are not something APS can control.”

But PED spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said the district is just showing that it cares more about adults than children.

“Helping struggling students learn is the Governor’s top priority when it comes to education

reform,” she said in an emailed statement. “We’re glad to see so many of our school districts prioritize their students first as they work within their K-3 Plus grant. Sadly, APS has chosen to shrink the program, even though they have more than enough resources on hand to fund it. When the district is shelling out $4.1 million a year to pay 35 bureaucrats, there’s absolutely no excuse for leaving kids without summer programming.”

The statement repeated criticisms that PED leveled at the district over a recent plan to drop middle school athletics. PED and Gov. Susana Martinez blasted the sports cut for the past week until APS announced Wednesday that it would keep the program.

The comparison doesn’t make sense to King.

K-3 Plus grant funds are allocated for that particular program and could not be used to pay for salaries, King said.

“It is totally different pots of money,” she added.

APS does have about $8 million from Title I— a federal program that supports low-income students — but those dollars have already been budgeted for schools.

King said PED encouraged the district to grow K-3 Plus last year, so 10 elementary schools were added: Zuni, Atrisco, Apache, Chaparral, Marie Hughes, Corrales, George Sanchez, Governor Bent, Matheson Park and Native American Community Academy Charter School.

Those 10 sites will not have the program this summer.

Across New Mexico, PED allocates $23.7 million to over 50 districts and charters for K-3 Plus. While total funding has not changed over the past three years, the number of sites has grown.

K-3 Plus will be cut 15 percent across all awards due to “increased demand for the program, alongside budget reductions during tight fiscal times,” according to a letter from PED literacy bureau director Michael Miller to superintendents and charter school administrators.