By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus presented an update on the 2021 state legislative session at the March 9 School Board Meeting. There are 9 days left in the session.
“It changes every day,” Steinhaus said. “As the chair of the Education Committee told me, these are crazy times.”
Steinhaus gave the Board a summary of the bills that most impact LAPS.
The House passed HB 268 on a party line vote. This bill increases workers compensation for those making less than $15 per hour. The legislation now moves to the Senate. The bill would have a financial impact on the District because some of the workers it employs would qualify. The bill would become effective immediately upon the Governor’s signature and would remain in effect until Jan. 31, 2023.
Steinhaus told the Board that there were provisions hidden in some bills that would have the $8 million LAPS receives from the Department of Energy be counted against the District when funding was determined by the New Mexico Public Education Department.
“By working with our contacts in the legislature, we were able to get these provisions removed and we are not going to lose that money,” Steinhaus said.
Senate Bill 40/SFCS clarifies a school providing a five-day instructional week is required to provide 10 additional instructional days or 190 instructional days total, whichever requires the addition of the fewest instructional days. House Bill 184 (HB184) enacts a provision allowing equivalent instructional hours to be used for qualifying K-5 Plus extended school year programs.
School districts and charter schools must meet a minimum instructional day requirement in the regular school year prior to implementing a K-5 Plus program through equivalent hours. The bill limits the stacking of K-5 Plus and Extended Learning Time Programs. The bill mandates a reporting date for generating K-5 Plus funds.
The House Education Committee amendment to House Bill 184 (HB184/aHEC) adds language that allows school districts and charter schools to implement an Extended Learning Time Program using equivalent hours or 10 additional instructional days if school districts meet a minimum instructional day requirement. The House and Senate are still considering and amending this legislation.
Other issues at the legislature include implementation of the “Grow Your Own Teachers” reimbursement for staffers of school districts who want to become teachers. This legislation is “moving well”, Steinhaus said.
House Bill 2 would provide a raise to all school employees of 1.5 percent.
“It may be a wash for some employees because of the 9 percent increase in high end insurance premiums for next year,” Steinhaus said.
School districts around the state favor a “hold harmless” funding formula, which would be based on the previous year rather than the current year’s enrollment because of the drop in enrollment due to COVID-19. The legislature is considering using the current year, but reevaluating enrollment 40 days into the school year of 2021-2022.
PED would have a pot of money to help districts meet their payroll. The staff of the various districts fears that they cannot meet payroll or hire teachers at the beginning of the year if they must wait until day 40 to know how many students will be counted for funding, Steinhaus said.
The School Board will hold two upcoming special sessions:
- The first at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 12 will cover full reopening of the schools and how it will be handled; and
- The second, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 will deal with the process of hiring a new superintendent. Superintendent Steinhaus has announced his retirement, effective at the end of this school year.
These meetings will take place online. Use the following link to live stream this meeting: https://zoom.us/j/93984977281?pwd=QUNYR0luSHpzN25Fd2svRWdSTTQ1UT09. Passcode: lapsjoin.
