New LAPS board member appointed and a possible solution for internet troubles
Plus a first look at the district’s 2026-27 budget and more from the April 14 school board meeting.
Superintendent Jennifer Guy requested approval from the school board to engage an outside contractor to evaluate the long-standing connectivity issues plaguing school facilities in the district.
“I’ve heard recently that [staff] feel like it’s a crisis. And it does feel like it’s become difficult and it’s interfering with people getting work done,” Guy said. “Today I was doing a meeting at Chamisa. I couldn’t get on and hold a connection to do my presentation. So, I went over to Piñon to try to do it and couldn’t do it ... We know there’s some things like that aren’t quite right.”
The school’s technology department has been attempting to troubleshoot the problem. “We’ve made so many changes and updates and bringing on the two new schools [Piñon and Chamisa],” Guy said. “All of our information is dated, and it feels like probably just something’s not quite syncing up together and we need some outside eyes to look at it.”
The board approved a motion to allocate up to $75,000 from the leased funds budget to “pursue internet assessment and possible remedies.” The search for a contractor is set to begin immediately, but the timeline of the assessment and upgrades is not yet known. Guy’s hope is to have the evaluation done this school year while “students are still in and using computers.”
District 1 Board Member appointed
The school board appointed Elisa Baker to fill the District 1 seat vacated by Dr. Margie Serrato shortly after her election in November 2025.
School district policy states that “the remaining board members will appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy,” and the board solicited nominations from interested residents in District 1. Baker and two other candidates, Stephanie Galvez and Katie Mussack, submitted letters of interest to the board and presented their platforms at the March 6 public board meeting.
Despite the board’s unanimous agreement that all three candidates were “wonderfully qualified,” the debate centered on whether the seat should go to Stephanie Galvez, who was the runner up in the November 2025 election, or Elisa Baker, who board member Antonio Jaurigue felt was “closer in values and priorities with Dr. Serrato.”
The ensuing 40-minute debate resulted in Jaurigue making a motion in favor of Baker was supported by Vice-President Lauren Coupland but opposed by Board President Sondra Wyman and Secretary Melanie Colgan. Following a brief discussion, Colgan broke the tie “for the sake of peace on the board,” making a motion in favor of Baker, with Wyman opposed.
Baker, a long-time Los Alamos resident, and parent of a third grader at Piñon Elementary, will be sworn in at the upcoming May 14 board meeting. She will serve as the District 1 representative until the next school board election in November 2027.
Budget for the 2026-2027 school year
Superintendent Guy led a “tour of budgets” being submitted to the state for the 2026-27 school year.
The largest component — the “operational” budget — involves approximately $57 million dollars, with $48 million of that coming from the State of New Mexico. Another $8 million comes from a recurring contribution from DOE.
The state’s contribution, known as the “State Equalization Guarantee,” or SEG, is computed by multiplying the district’s enrollment (weighted by grade and additional special needs) by the “unit value,” the number of dollars.
The state’s unit value for the 2026-2027 school year is $7,117.10, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year. However, combination of flat student enrollment numbers and a $1.5 million increase in expenses (primarily for insurance premiums and the state-mandated 1% salary increase) mean the district’s bottom line will remain virtually unchanged from the 2025-2026 school year.
Supplementary Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Funding
Student Services Director Karla Crane presented to the board a proposed budget of nearly $866,000, which covers “special needs” that aren’t covered by the operational budget. Crane attributed the 3% decrease from last year’s budget to the overall decline in enrolled special education students.
Along with approving the budget amount, the board was “required to accept the assurances certifying that … the district will operate in accordance of the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]”. The board was also required to adopt the updated “Special Education Policies and Procedures,” a 426-page district-specific document prepared by its contract counsel.
Preschool Program Funding
LAPS Preschool Director Jennifer Washnok presented a proposed budget of $1.69 million for the district’s 155-seat preschool program for four-year-olds. The funding comes from an NM Early Childhood Education and Care Department grant, and the district is expecting to serve 155 students during 2026-2027 school year. The preschool program will also receive an estimated $20,000 in supplementary IDEA funding.
The funding serves to pay the salaries for ten teachers and ten educational assistants, two at each elementary school, and covers expenses such as transportation and food service.
Leased Facilities Funding
The school district operates an “enterprise fund” for the various properties it leases to other organizations around town, from small businesses to LANL and N3B. The revenue from these facilities amounts to approximately $4 million, and the fund maintains a cash balance of approximately $12 million. As an “enterprise fund,” the money can be used for discretionary spending to supplement the various other budgets.
The board approved Guy’s request of nearly $2 million of “leased facilities fund requests” to cover a diverse array of activities including professional development stipends for teachers, elementary assistant principal salaries, and staff leave buyout.
