Legal Status and Responsibilities of the Board of Education September 2018 Revision

Notice: This policy was reviewed, revised, and/or renamed. We provide this revision for historic purposes only. Please see our current policies and procedural directives.

Legal Name and Status

The “Board of Education of Albuquerque Municipal School District No. 12, Counties of Bernalillo and Sandoval, New Mexico,” hereafter referred to as the Board of Education, retains and reserves unto itself all powers and duties conferred upon and vested in it by the New Mexico State Constitution and New Mexico state statutes. The primary powers and duties of the Board of Education shall be to employ and negotiate the contract of a superintendent of schools for the district, create and adopt district policy, and review and approve the budget for the Albuquerque Public Schools.

The Board of Education shall be subject to New Mexico Public Education Department regulations.

The Board of Education shall comply with all federal statutes and regulations and shall operate in accordance with the New Mexico State Constitution, New Mexico state statutes, and New Mexico administrative code.

Powers and responsibilities of the Board of Education shall be further set forth through board procedural directive.

Board Duties and Responsibilities

Statutory Duties

According to § 22-5-4 NMSA 1978, the authority and duties of the Board of Education are:

Develop educational policies for the school district
Employ a local superintendent for the school district and set the superintendent’s salary
Review and approve the annual school district budget
Acquire, lease and dispose of property
Have the capacity to sue and be sued
Acquire property by eminent domain pursuant to the procedures provided in the Eminent Domain Code (§42A-1-1 NMSA 1978)
Issue general obligation bonds of the school district
Provide for the repair of and maintain all property belonging to the school district
For good cause and upon order of the district court, subpoena witnesses and documents in connection with a hearing concerning any powers or duties of the local school board
Except for expenditures for salaries, contract for the expenditure of money according to the provisions of the Procurement Code (§13-1-28 NMSA 1978)
Adopt rules pertaining to the administration of all powers or duties of the local school board
Accept or reject any charitable gift, grant, devise or bequest. The particular gift, grant, devise or bequest accepted shall be considered an asset of the school district or the public school to which it is given
Offer and, upon compliance with the conditions of such offer, pay rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction or other appropriate disciplinary disposition by the courts or juvenile authorities of offenders in case of theft, defacement or destruction of school district property. All such rewards will be paid from school district funds in accordance with rules promulgated by the Public Education Department
Give prior approval for any educational program in a public school in the school district that is to be conducted, sponsored, carried on or caused to be carried on by a private organization or agency

Administrative Code Duties

The Board of Education will, in accord with the Administrative Code of the Secretary of Education:

Approve and support the District’s Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS) and each school site-level EPSS action plan
Employ and evaluate the superintendent on an annual basis in accordance with § 22-10-3-1 NMSA 1978
Ensure that each member of the board participates in a planned program of training which will assist in the performance of specified duties. All local school board members must receive a total of five (5) hours of annual training
Delegate administrative and supervisory functions to the superintendent
Refrain from involvement in delegated administrative functions
Review, revise as needed, and submit policies to PED on an annual basis
Award diplomas to students who have successfully completed graduation requirements
Ensure the alignment of district curricula with Content Standards with benchmarks
Ensure that district funds are appropriately managed and disbursed
Be responsible for oversight of revenue and expenditures within the district budget
Accept responsibility for ensuring the success of each school in the district

Other Duties

The Board of Education performs the following basic functions necessary to the discharging of its responsibilities: legislative, executive, and appraisal.

The legislative function is the policy-making aspect of the school system. It is the policy of the Board of Education to retain and exercise full legislative authority and control over the schools by adopting general policies or by acting directly in matters not covered by its policies.
The executive function of the Board of Education is concerned with placing in operation existing Board policy. Most of this function is delegated by the board to its executive and administrative officer, the superintendent.
The appraisal function involves the determination of the efficiency of the school operation and an evaluation of the educational program of the district based on the policies as outlined in the policy manual.

Establishment of District Boundaries

The board shall establish school board district boundaries. These boundaries are determined according to New Mexico state statutes and are currently required every ten years after each federal census. The board shall comply with all federal and state statutes to establish any necessary redistricted and new boundaries.

Confidentiality

Generally, board business is public, with few exceptions. On matters that the law requires be kept confidential, individual board members and staff are required to follow those laws. On matters of active proprietary negotiation (for example, superintendent evaluation, teacher negotiations, real estate matters, pending litigation, and personnel or student hearings) it is essential that confidentiality is maintained.

Board of Education Member:

Policy and Instruction Committee Chair

Department Director:

Board of Education Services Office Executive Director

References:

Legal Cross Ref.:

§22-5-4 NMSA 1978
Open Meetings Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 10-15-1 to 10-15-4

Board Policy Cross Ref.:

BB – Board of Education Legal Status, Powers and Responsibilities

Procedural Directive Cross Ref.:

NSBA/NEPN Classification: BB

Introduced: November 11, 2015
Adopted: November 18, 2015
Reviewed: September 12, 2018
Revised: September 19, 2018

This page was last updated on: January 11, 2016.