New Mexico’s House Education Committee meeting recently at the State Capitol building. Photo by Superintendent Kurt SteinhausLAPS News:
The Los Alamos Public School’s Board met for a regular school board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12; here are the highlights of what was discussed.
To begin, the board recognized the Los Alamos High School science department staff for winning the 2019 New Mexico Excellence in STEM Award. The program, sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab Tech Engagement Office in Albuquerque, honors students and teachers making strides in science, technology, engineering and math education.
Next, Robert Cordova with Cordova CPAs LLC presented the findings from LAPS’ audit for fiscal year 2018. Cordova reported that LAPS received an “unmodified opinion,” or a clean audit, and thanked everyone who was part of the process. Board President Jennifer McCumber extended thanks to the Business Office staff for their hard work in making the audit successful and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Lisa Montoya replied, “It truly is a team effort.”
President McCumber appointed individual board members to serve on two LAPS committees: the Budget Development Committee and the Facilities Master Plan Work Group.
The purpose of the Budget Development Committee is to help seek community input for the 2019-20 LAPS budget. President McCumber and Board Member Steve Boerigter were appointed to this committee.
The goal of the Facilities Master Plan Work Group is to study the district’s growth trends and facility program needs in order to update the 5 Year Facilities Master Plan. This plan uses a systematic process that strives to identify needs and wisely allocate capital resources to bring district facilities up to state adequacy standards and district policies. Board Member Bill Hargraves and Board Secretary Andrea Cunningham were appointed to serve on this committee.
Anyone interested in helping LAPS with either of these important processes, is encouraged to attend the public meetings and let their voice be heard. The date and time of these meetings is to be announced.
After that, Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus provided an update about the progress made with the board’s legislative priorities in the legislative session that is now about half over. Listed below are the school board’s priorities:
1. Implement a 4-year plan to provide raises for all school employees so that New Mexico becomes regionally competitive when compared to Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.
2. Allocate funding to implement school safety plans across New Mexico.
3. Allocate funding “above the line” to increase local decision making and support student success.
4. Increase understanding about the importance of student and staff well-being.
5. Pass a paperwork reduction act and a moratorium on “unfunded mandates.”
6. Allow school districts to use short-cycle assessments to demonstrate student achievement growth.
Lastly, the school board was reminded of the nomination for the Excellence in Student Achievement Award, sponsored by the New Mexico School Boards Association. This award seeks to recognize school leaders, staff and other individuals who have played an important role in improving student achievement. The nominee can be an administrator, teacher, staff member, parent, community member or volunteer.
The nomination process is open to the community, and from there, the school board will choose the recipient. To nominate an individual or group that has played an important role in improving student achievement at LAPS, visit laschools.net and find the nomination form under “NMSBA Award.” The deadline for this nomination is Thursday, March 7.
The next school board work session is Feb. 28 at Los Alamos High School. The next regular school board meeting is March. 12 at the Los Alamos Administration Board Room. The meetings are open to the public.