Chapter 22 — Chapter 22

History: 1978, Comp., § 22-7-9.1, enacted by Laws 1987, ch. 142, § 2; recompiled and amended as § 1-25-6 by Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 164.

Chapter 22, Article 8 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Public School Finance Act". History: 1953 Comp., § 77-6-1, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 55; 2003, ch. 153, § 28.

A. Prior to June 20 of each year, each local school board and each governing board of a charter school shall, at a public hearing of which notice has been published by the local school board or governing board of a charter school, fix the operating budget for the school district …

A. The department shall: (1) on or before July 1 of each year, approve and certify to each local school board and governing body of a charter school an operating budget for use by the school district or charter school; (2) ensure that each program in a school district or charter …

Operating budgets shall not be altered or amended after approval and certification by the department, except for the following purposes and according to the following procedure: A. upon written request of a local school board or governing body of a state- chartered charter school…

July 1, 2026.) A. On or before October 15 of each year, each local school board or governing body of a state-chartered charter school shall submit to the department: (1) an estimate for the succeeding fiscal year of: (a) the membership of qualified students to be enrolled in the …

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1999, ch. 291, § 8 repealed 22-8-12.2 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 149, § 1, relating to budgets, earnings from investments and operational funds for local school boards, effective April 8, 1999. For provisions of former section, see the 199…

committee; membership; duties. A. As used in this section, "local school board" includes the governing authority of a charter school. B. Each local school board shall appoint at least two members of the board as a finance subcommittee to assist the board in carrying out its budge…

A. Each public school shall keep accurate records concerning membership in the public school. B. The dates for which MEM is reported are as follows: (1) the first reporting date is the second Wednesday in October of each year; (2) the second reporting date is December 1 or the fi…

not submitting timely audit reports. A. Each school district and charter school shall have an annual audit as required by the Audit Act [12-6-1 to 12-6-14 NMSA 1978] and rules of the state auditor that shall be completed and submitted to the state auditor by the date specified in…

A. Each local superintendent or person in charge of the fiscal management of a charter school shall provide quarterly reports on the financial position of the school district or charter school, as applicable, to the local school board of the school district or the governing body …

A. No later than December 31, 2021, the department, with input from stakeholders, including school districts, charter school leaders, business managers and staff from the legislative finance committee and legislative education study committee, shall establish, implement and maint…

A. The "public school fund" is created. B. The public school fund shall be distributed to school districts and state-chartered charter schools in the following parts: (1) state equalization guarantee distribution; (2) transportation distribution; and (3) supplemental distribution…

A. The department shall determine the allocations to each school district and charter school from each of the distributions of the public school fund, subject to the limits established by law. B. The local school board in each school district with locally chartered charter school…

The department shall make payments of each distribution of the public school fund by warrant of the department of finance and administration drawn against the public school fund upon vouchers issued by the department. When payments are made to county treasurers for school distric…

A. The program cost for each school district and charter school shall be determined by the department in accordance with the provisions of the Public School Finance Act. B. The department is authorized to require from each school district and charter school the information necess…

A. The total program units for the purpose of computing the program cost shall be calculated by multiplying the sum of the program units itemized as Paragraphs (1) and (2) in this subsection by the staffing cost multiplier and adding the program units itemized as Paragraphs (3) t…

A. The number of early childhood education program units is determined by multiplying the early childhood education MEM by the cost differential factor 1.44. Early childhood education students enrolled in half-day kindergarten programs shall be counted for 0.5 early childhood MEM…

A. The children, youth and families department shall fund preschool programs for zero- to five-year-old children in selected school districts. The children, youth and families department shall distribute any appropriation for this purpose to local entities upon approval by that d…

As used in the Public School Finance Act: A. "ADM" or "MEM" means membership; B. "membership" means the total enrollment of qualified students on the current roll of a class or school on a specified day. The current roll is established by the addition of original entries and reen…

The number of basic program units is determined by multiplying the basic program MEM in each grade by the corresponding cost differential factor as follows: Grades Cost Differential Factor 1 1.2 2 and 3 1.18 4 and 5 1.045 6 through 12 1.30. History: 1978 Comp., § 22-8-20, enacted…

A. For the purpose of the Public School Finance Act, special education programs for exceptional children are those approved by the department and classified as follows: (1) class A programs, in which department certified individuals provide services to children whose individualiz…

The number of bilingual multicultural education program units is determined by multiplying the full-time-equivalent MEM in programs implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act [Chapter 22, Article 23 NMSA 1978] by the cost differenti…

A. An approved public school with a MEM of fewer than four hundred, including early childhood education full-time-equivalent MEM but excluding membership in class C and class D programs and excluding full-time-equivalent membership in three- and four-year-old developmentally disa…

A. A school district or charter school with an increase in MEM equal to or greater than one percent, when compared with the immediately preceding year, is eligible for additional program units. The increase in MEM shall be calculated as follows: (Current Year MEM - Previous Year …

History: Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 16; 2019, ch. 207, § 16; 2021, ch. 134, § 1; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 19, § 5.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 17; 2019, ch. 207, § 17; 2021, ch. 134, § 2; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 19, § 5.

For the first year of programs operating pursuant to the K-5 Plus Act, the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, the Fine Arts Education Act or for extended learning time programs, a school district or charter school shall generate the applicable program units. A school district…

A. The "public education reform fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury and consists of appropriations; unspecified gifts, grants and donations to the fund; and income from investment of the fund. B. Subject to legislative appropriation, money in the fund is…

A. A public school operating on a five-day calendar that provides more than one hundred eighty days of instruction, and a public school operating on a four-day calendar that provides more than one hundred fifty-five days of instruction, shall be considered a "K-12 plus school". E…

A. A school district or charter school is eligible for additional program units if it establishes identified services to assist English learners to attain English language proficiency in a reasonable period of time. The number of additional units to which a school district or cha…

certification of school nurses; program units. The number of program units for licensed level two or level three school nurses who are registered nurses and who are certified by the national board for certification of school nurses is determined by multiplying by one and one-half…

A. A newly created school district is eligible for additional program units. The number of additional program units to which a newly created school district is entitled under this subsection is the number of units computed in the following manner: (MEM for current year) x .147 = …

A. A school district or charter school is eligible for additional program units if it establishes within its department-approved educational plan identified services to assist students to reach their full academic potential. A school district or charter school receiving additiona…

program units. The number of program units for licensed school employees certified by the national board for professional teaching standards is determined by multiplying by one and one- half the number of licensed school employees certified by the national board for professional …

The number of fine arts education program units is determined by multiplying the full-time-equivalent MEM in programs implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Fine Arts Education Act [Chapter 22, Article 15D NMSA 1978] by the cost differential factor of 0.055 for fisc…

The charter school student activities program unit for a school district is determined by multiplying the number of charter school students who are participating in school district activities governed by the New Mexico activities association by the cost differential factor of 0.1…

A. The number of elementary physical education program units is determined by multiplying the number of students in elementary physical education by the cost differential factor of six one-hundredths. B. As used in this section, "elementary physical education" means eligible phys…

The home school student activities program unit for a school district is determined by multiplying the number of home school students who are participating in school district activities governed by the New Mexico activities association by the cost differential factor of 0.1. The …

Notwithstanding the provision in Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978 defining a qualified student as one who is regularly enrolled in one-half or more of the minimum course requirements approved by the department for public school students, home school students may take one or more classes …

definitions; factors; calculations. A. For the purpose of calculating the instructional staff training and experience index, the following definitions and limitations shall apply: (1) "instructional staff" means the personnel assigned to the instructional program of the school di…

amount. A. To determine the amount of the state equalization guarantee distribution, the department shall: (1) calculate the number of program units to which each school district or charter school is entitled using an average of the MEM on the second and third reporting dates of …

The legislature shall maintain each year in the public school fund an amount equal to the amount of revenue produced by all school districts pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of Section 7-37-7 NMSA 1978 for which credit is required to be taken pursuant to Section 22-8-25 …

A. Money in the transportation distribution of the public school fund shall be used only for the purpose of making payments to each school district or state-chartered charter school for the to-and-from school transportation costs of students in grades kindergarten through twelve …

A. The department shall establish a systematic program for the purchase of necessary school bus transportation equipment. B. In establishing a system for the replacement of school-district-owned buses, the department shall provide for the replacement of school buses on a twelve-y…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1995, ch. 208, § 16 repealed 22-8-28 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1979, ch. 305, § 3, relating to the submission of school bus cost reports, effective July 1, 1995. For provisions of former section, see the 1994 NMSA 1978 on NMOneSource.com.

A. On the second reporting date and the third reporting date of each year, each local school board of a school district and governing body of a state-chartered charter school shall report to the state transportation director, upon forms furnished by the state transportation direc…

A. As used in this section: (1) "annual variables" means the coefficients calculated by regressing the total operational expenditures from two years prior to the current school year for each school district and state-chartered charter school using the number of students transport…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1999 (1st S.S.), ch. 11, § 6 repealed 22-8-29.2 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1995, ch. 208, § 11, relating to grouping of districts, calculation of average square miles served per student transported, and calculation of average operational expenditure…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1999 (1st S.S.), ch. 11, § 6 repealed 22-8-29.3 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1995, ch. 208, § 12, relating to the calculation of average operational expenditure per student, effective May 21, 1999. For provisions of former section, see the 1998 NMSA 1…