Animas Public Schools launches facility master plan, highlights five-year strategy

Animas Public Schools is putting facilities planning in front of parents and taxpayers, not hiding it in a budget packet. Its homepage now points users to a facilities master plan wiki, says the district has begun creating a District Facilities Master Plan, and notes that the community helped shape a five-year strategic plan that will guide future decisions.

That matters because the master plan is not just a planning exercise. The New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority says a facilities master plan is a strategic tool used to identify condition, building-system, demographic and capacity issues, and it is required for districts that want Public School Capital Outlay Council funding for renovations or new builds. State records show the council approved a not-to-exceed award of $33,901 for Animas Public School District’s FY24 facilities master plan assistance application, covering the state share.

The district’s wiki says Capital AE and thinkSMART planning inc. are helping with research and documentation. It also says the site is meant to serve as a historical repository of the district’s planning work and a place for stakeholders to take part in the conversation, a sign that Animas is trying to put the facts in one public place before any long-term commitments are made.

The district has already used its calendar to surface that process. A Community Input Meeting #2 appeared on the calendar for April 7, 2026, alongside spring events such as FFA State Competition and athletics, showing that facilities planning has been moving in public at the same time the school year was winding down. The calendar also lists track meets, prom, board meetings, the Hidalgo Relays in Lordsburg, and later senior and athletics milestones, a reminder that school decisions in Hidalgo County often affect families who travel across long distances for events and meetings.

Animas also keeps a basic governance and accountability structure visible. The Board of Education has five members, meets on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. in the high school library, and posts agendas 72 hours in advance. The district’s public accountability page links to its 2024-25 report card on NM Vistas, where the growth values are listed at 0% because the district was not open for the 2023-2024 school year. The homepage also carries a policy reminder for high school students in grades 10 through 12: those in good standing, with fewer than six tardies in a grading period, may leave campus for lunch if they have a signed open-campus permission slip on file.

Taken together, the homepage shows a small district trying to do several things at once: explain how it plans to spend on facilities, keep the board’s work public, and orient families around the daily realities of school life before bigger decisions are locked in.