Grants get go-ahead, but funding down

PORTALES — Applications for three federal grants serving a large demographic in the Portales Municipal School District received the go-ahead Monday night at the PMS Board of Education meeting.

But officials said funding is significantly less than in years past.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I, Title I Part C, and Every Student Succeeds Act Title II grants all received cuts since a year ago, according to Federal Programs Director Henry Montano.

The grants provide assistance to districts with high percentages of children from low-income families and children of migrant workers, according to Montano. They fund services including tutoring, literacy coaches, bilingual teachers, summer school, and parental involvement in education.

PMS received an allocation of $842,778 for ESEA Title I, down from $959,376 in the 2016-2017 fiscal year due to a 7 percent “set-aside” required by the federal government for the purpose of school improvement, Montano said.

“It was cut automatically 7 percent there, and then the state department had the option to withhold an extra 3 percent, which our state decided to,” he said.

Title I Part C received $61,000 for the upcoming fiscal year, down from $77,097 the previous fiscal year. That forced the district to cut a migrant tutor, Montano said.

“That one went down due to the fact that the number of students identifying as migrants has gone down. The feds have cut it at the state level,” he said.

The ESSA Title II application was for $131,000, down from $138,522 the previous year.

Other actions taken at Monday’s meeting:

• Board members approved a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of $1.5 million in general obligation school bonds.

Erik Harrigan, municipal finance director with investment bank RBC Capital Markets, said the sale will be made to the New Mexico Finance Authority.

He noted that with the issuance of the bonds, PMS’ debt service tax rate will decrease from $7.56 to $7.20, a number he expects to remain the same moving forward.

The bonds, according to PMS Superintendent Johnnie Cain, can be used for all the district’s capital needs, including the construction and renovation of buildings, purchasing vehicles, and education technology.

• Board members approved the resignation of member Mary Lou Rowley and established 1 p.m. June 23 as the time and date to interview candidates to fill the vacancy.

• Board members approved 13 donations of bicycles to Brown Early Childhood Center, James Elementary School, and Lindsey Steiner Elementary School for children with perfect attendance.

Other donations included $3,000 for the Gifted and Talented program’s activity fund and $500 for baseball championship rings.

• Board members approved the acceptance of a $20,000 grant from the Gay Su Pinnell Education Foundation for the professional development of intervention teachers in the district.

• Board members approved the IDEA-B (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) application for the 2017-2018 school year.

The IDEA-B budget for the next school year is $1 million, according to Special Student Services Director Cheryl Aguilar.

• Board members approved an award of a request for proposal for general school photography services for the next three years to Campos Portraits in Roswell.

An RFP for athletics and senior photography for the next three years was awarded to Times Remembered Photography of Portales.

• Board members recognized Portales High School golf and baseball teams for their state championships.