Another $400K going to APS

Per-pupil funding boosted by PED

A little more money will flow into Albuquerque Public Schools for the upcoming fiscal year thanks to a slight increase in the Public Education Department’s funding per pupil.

The additional $400,000 is a drop in the bucket of APS’ $700 million operational budget, but a welcome one in light of a projected $9.5 million deficit.

“This is a very small increase, but more than we had budgeted,” district spokeswoman Johanna King said Monday.

The money comes from PED’s bump in the value of the “units” used to fund students depending on their needs — for instance gifted education and English as a Second Language tutoring draw more “units.”

The department announced last Thursday that it will raise the per-unit allocation from the current $4,037.75 to $4,040.24 for 2016-2017, a smaller boost than last year’s, when funding went up $30 per unit.

PED spokesman Robert McEntyre touted the change, which comes amid a downturn in state oil and natural gas revenue.

“New Mexico is investing more money in education than ever before with more dollars going directly into the classroom where it matters most,” he said in a prepared statement. “The increase shows that even with lower revenues, education continues to be a big priority for this administration, and we’re committed to helping our students reach their full potential.” Still, times are tight at APS. District administrators are searching for savings, particularly at Central Office though it only accounts for about 4 percent of the operational budget.

“It is a large effort right now to be more efficient,” King said. “The goal is to have as little impact on school sites as possible.”

The process will continue for several weeks: the Board of Education is scheduled to vote on a draft budget May 18 and forward it to PED by early June.

One factor in the picture is a steady decline in students attending APS schools. Enrollment has dropped from a high of about 90,500 in 2010 to the current 85,700 and is projected

to continue down to roughly 80,000 by 2020.

In just the last year, APS lost $7 million in state funding due to lower enrollment.

District administrators blame a drop in birth rates, migration out of the district and charter school growth for the trend.