Los Alamos Reporter

Community Invited To LAPS Budget Meetings

LAPS Budget Committee_2.JPGLAPS Budget Committee members include, from left, Aspen Secretary Barbara Poston, School Board Vice President Stephen Boerigter, School Board Secretary Jennifer McCumber, community member Morris Pongratz, Los Alamos Middle School Principal Brian Easton, Healthy Schools Initiative Program Director Kristine Coblentz, and Student Services Coordinator Karla Crane are just a few representatives on the LAPS Budget Committee. Photo Courtesy LAPS

LAPS NEWS

Los Alamos Public Schools invites the community to participate in the budget planning process for the 2019-20 school year. The first community meeting is April 9 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the Los Alamos High School Speech Theater; the second meeting is April 23 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the White Rock Library. Parents, students, staff and interested community members are encouraged to attend and participate in the conversation.

School Board Vice President Stephen Boerigter and Secretary Jennifer McCumber were recently appointed to serve on the LAPS Budget Committee, a group of LAPS staff and community partners that work to develop a budget proposal to present to the board at the May 14th School Board meeting. As part of the budget process, this committee will host two community meetings that will include a review of the budget development process and time for community members to ask questions, give ideas and suggest how funds would be best utilized.  

Building the budget proposal is a collaborative process involving many stakeholders and will be based upon focus areas in the Strategic Plan. The objective is to develop an Operational Budget that supports the LAPS goal: “Every child will discover and develop their unique strengths and thrive at the next level.”

The process includes analyzing student achievement data, following new laws and requirements from the state and federal government, considering priorities, encouraging cost-saving measures and submitting for approval a budget to the Los Alamos School Board. It will then be sent to the New Mexico Public Education Department for state approval.