Gadsden Independent Schools officials presented a preliminary $242 million operational budget at a budget workshop, outlining revenues, staffing plans and a recommended 10% cash reserve as the district prepares a budget for final approval in June.

The presentation, delivered by Miss Martinez, focused on projected revenues of about $180 million, an anticipated carryover cash balance of $61 million and total available resources of roughly $242 million. “The purpose of this presentation is to go over our operational budget for the upcoming school year,” Martinez said.

Why it matters: the budget is the district’s primary policy document linking staffing and program choices to the strategic and required New Mexico education plans. District staff said declining enrollment and uncertainty in some federal funding streams are key risks that shaped their recommendations.

District finance staff said the State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) will provide the vast bulk of the district’s revenue for operations; SEG funding is based on counted student program units and a legislatively set unit value. Martinez said the district’s membership number for budgeting is 11,251 and explained how program units and the unit value translate into SEG funding.

On revenues and reserves, Martinez offered the district’s current projections: approximately $179 million from SEG, smaller amounts from local fees and other sources, and a planned projected cash balance of $61 million. Martinez recommended holding about 10% of total budget resources in cash reserves—about $24.25 million—to protect against uncertainty in federal and other allocations.

Staffing and compensation were the largest expenditure items. Martinez said employee wages and benefits account for the largest share of program costs—about $155.8 million—and that the budget includes funding for 1,761 positions. She told the board there is a 4% increase to all school personnel in the proposed budget and that medical insurance premiums were budgeted to rise by 9.95%; dental increased about 4%.

The budget document also reflects an operational change in how substitute teachers will be handled: substitutes are being outsourced to EduStaff, which staff said reduces the district’s headcount percentage tied to salaries and benefits compared with prior years.

Special education supports and stipends were a recurring topic. Martinez confirmed a new district-funded stipend for special education teachers, paid from operational funds rather than IDEA-B funds, and said the stipend structure covers all special education teachers. Martinez said the district will budget two stipend levels—$1,500 and $3,000—based on the type and intensity of the special-education unit. Board Member Flores asked whether the stipends are local decisions and Martinez replied they are funded from the district’s operational payroll budget.

Bilingual and TESOL stipends were clarified by a staff member who identified herself as Miss Terrazona. She said the bilingual stipend was increased to $3,500 (from $1,500 previously) and that the TESOL stipend was raised to $2,000; both stipends are tied to levels of service and the hours students receive under program rules.

Board members asked about school resource officers and security staffing in unincorporated areas such as Chaparral and the northern valley. Mister Dempsey said the district brought on about three full-time-equivalent security positions midyear and that the district has shared a draft memorandum of understanding with the city of Anthony and Sunland Park to secure city officers as SROs. “If we're able to secure those SROs, that's gonna allow us to change our staffing model of our security department,” Dempsey said, noting the Chaparral area had not been mentioned in his recollection of current MOUs.

Discussion versus decisions: the workshop was informational. Staff confirmed the preliminary operational budget will be presented again at the district’s upcoming regular board meeting, and that final approval is anticipated at the June 12 meeting. Martinez and Dempsey asked board members to submit questions in advance so staff can prepare specific line-item details for the regular meeting. There were no motions or formal votes taken at the workshop.

Board members requested clearer alignment between the budget and the district’s strategic goals. Chief Hernandez and other staff noted the requirement to submit a New Mexico Education Plan (ED plan) that ties budget items to academic priorities; staff said they will present the draft goals and describe monitoring and quarterly accountability measures before board approval of the final budget.

The presentation also noted longer-term trends the board may consider: an average enrollment decline of about 286 students over the last five years, equivalent to roughly one elementary school's worth of students, and sensitivity in revenues to future changes in unit value set by the legislature. Martinez said the district received its IDEA-B allocation that morning, slightly higher than estimated, but other federal funding streams remain uncertain and could affect final numbers.

The workshop closed with staff offering to provide more detailed documentation on stipend determinations, classification of special-education units and the ED plan alignment at the next board meeting. No formal actions were recorded during the session.