Las Cruces Public Schools unveils renewed budget survey, schedules Nov. 6 town hall

Matthew Saenz, Las Cruces Public Schools budget director, told the finance subcommittee on Oct. 23 that the district will release its fiscal year 2026–27 budget survey Nov. 1 and hold the first budget town hall Nov. 6 at the district boardroom. "We welcome everyone to join us in person or online on November 6 at Las Cruces Public Schools boardroom," Saenz said.

Dr. Jules Barbati, the committee facilitator, described revisions the survey committee made to boost participation and clarity. "We deleted five questions, but also added 12 additional questions," Barbati said. The committee split several composite questions to better capture differences among parents, teachers and staff, and broke some safety items into separate items that distinguish among types of security presence. Barbati said the committee added a direct question about Evolv weapon detection systems because it appeared in last year’s qualitative responses.

The nut of the presentation was that the survey is intended to drive budget priorities and be more accessible. Saenz said the district will promote the survey through social media, ParentVUE, radio and an advertising package through NMCO that includes Disney/Hulu placements at the local level, and that flyers and QR-code keychains will be distributed to schools. The district also plans a second town hall in March to discuss survey results and a final town hall in May prior to formal budget adoption.

Committee members sought clarity on how responses would be reported. Barbati said the survey will keep five importance-response choices so there is a midpoint for respondents but that, for reporting, the team plans to group responses and will likely combine "very important" and "extremely important" to highlight highest priorities.

Saenz outlined the timeline: committee formation and meetings in September, survey release Nov. 1, survey close Dec. 22, schools submit budgets to finance in February, and public education department unit values issued in April. The district intends to submit its adopted budget to the Public Education Department and finalize documents in June and July.

The subcommittee and superintendent praised outreach plans and the effort to expand participation among parents and staff while maintaining strong student participation from prior years. The board chair thanked the budget team and committee for their work and encouraged broad community participation.

The presentation materials and the draft survey are available on the district budget page at lcpsfinance.net and will be discussed again at the Nov. 6 town hall.