Albuquerque Public Schools
2019 APS Board of Education Resolution for funding of instructional materials
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Albuquerque Public Schools – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Resolution
Relating to the funding of instructional materials
WHEREAS, Albuquerque Public Schools continues to face constraints on operational budgets due to necessity of funding instructional materials; and
WHEREAS New Mexico enacted an “Instructional Material Law” (Sections 22-15-1 through 22-15-31, NMSA, 1978); and
WHEREAS, New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) is authorized under Sections 22-15-1 through 22-15-31, NMSA, 1978 Compilation, to adopt a multiple list of instructional materials and distribute funds directly to local school districts, charter districts, charter schools, and state supported schools; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico has dedicated funding, existing structure and procedures with recent updates to allow for the acquisition of digital instructional materials; and
WHEREAS, the administration of this fund by PED should be used for the purpose of administering the Instructional Material Law; and
WHEREAS, APS and other districts incurred significant declines in instructional material funding from PED in the last three consecutive school years; and
WHEREAS, the state-approved adoption process managed by PED no longer funds full implementation causing APS to get further behind in funding cycles and is no longer able to purchase approved textbooks for all students; and
WHEREAS, the demand for instructional materials does not decline nor the cost of those materials decrease; and
WHEREAS, schools continue to need to fund and provide instructional materials increasingly out of operational funds, thereby taking money away from school operations; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that research be implemented to determine the sufficiency levels needed to equitably fund instructional materials, as per the Instructional Material Law, in order to provide adequate instructional materials to students in all schools; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education formally requests that the legislature and Public Education Department prioritize funding of the instructional material fund, rather than depending on schools and the district to meet the demand for instructional materials out of operational funding; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the New Mexico State Legislature allocate funding to PED and provide oversight of the distribution of this funding by PED to ensure all students receive instructional materials up to the level of expectation in the New Mexico Instructional Materials Law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor of New Mexico, the Secretary of Public Education, the Legislative Education Study Committee, the Legislative Finance Committee and the New Mexico School Boards Association.