Los Alamos Schools Invites Public Input on 2026 Budget Priorities

The Los Alamos Public Schools 2026-27 budget heads to the School Board on April 14 for a formal vote and then to the New Mexico Public Education Department for state approval, leaving the April 7 community session at the School Boardroom as the last point in the calendar where public input can still shape the final numbers. Finance staff will walk attendees through the draft beginning at 5:30 p.m. at 2075 Trinity Drive, presenting year-to-date revenues and expenditures alongside the full budget proposal in a session running through 6:30 p.m.

Three cost pressures will frame the conversation that evening. Enrollment shifts sit at the center because New Mexico ties per-pupil allocations directly to student counts and need designations, including special education and English language learner weights, meaning any enrollment decline between the current school year and 2026-27 shrinks the district's state revenue before a single spending decision is made. Health care and utility costs are the second driver, both rising faster than formula increases can offset. Transportation rounds out the trio, with route costs across Los Alamos County absorbing non-classroom spending that can crowd out programs if left unaddressed.

The session is designed as a two-way exchange tied to the district's strategic plan, not a one-way briefing. That distinction matters: community members who arrive with specific questions about trade-offs are the ones most likely to move the needle before April 14. The most consequential questions for April 7 focus on what the draft budget assumes for 2026-27 enrollment compared to current-year actual counts, which specific positions or programs are being reduced versus held flat, and what the district's contingency looks like if state funding comes in below projection. Those answers will clarify what is protected in the draft and what remains negotiable.

Advance questions can be directed to Nancy Brugh at (505) 663-2230 or n.brugh@laschools.net. The public comment window closes when the board convenes April 14.