Bernalillo Public Schools reviews security measures after year of changes
Bernalillo schools spent a year hardening campuses with clear backpacks, cameras and armed security, then began testing whether the upgrades actually changed day-to-day safety.
Bernalillo Public Schools is now judging whether a year of tightened security has done more than make campuses look safer. Superintendent Matt Montano said the district spent the past school year rolling out clear backpacks, upgraded cameras, improved fencing, added access controls and more staff training, while also putting armed security on most campuses.
The review matters because those changes were not a one-time reaction. They began with a clear backpack policy in August 2025 for students in grades 4 through 12, and district safety director Thomas Maes Jr. described that policy as part of a layered approach that also includes cameras and locked entrances. Bernalillo Public Schools says the district serves 9 campuses and about 2,850 students.
Montano said vaping was the primary challenge during the school year, a reminder that the district’s safety agenda now reaches beyond weapons and locked doors. He also said Bernalillo schools are working to improve reporting systems and explore cybersecurity efforts, while communication through text, email and social media remains important. The district says it uses the Rave Panic Button app to communicate emergencies, and state guidance requires every district to maintain a Safe Schools Plan and conduct emergency drills during the school year.
Local reporting has also shown the district testing weapon-detection systems and leaning harder on campus monitoring. KOAT reported that Bernalillo schools expanded surveillance, fencing and controlled access points and continued repeated drills for students and staff. For parents, the bigger question is whether those layers change what happens when a problem appears, how quickly staff respond, and whether families receive timely, clear information when schools go into lockdown or cancel classes.
That concern sharpened after an active-shooter situation on April 14, 2026, when Bernalillo Public Schools canceled classes after shots were reported near the Rail Runner station and Bernalillo High School in the Town of Bernalillo. Police later said 57-year-old Paul Mendez fired at three people near the Rail Runner Park and Ride, fled toward the high school and was later arrested on 13 charges.
The district’s security review now carries more weight because of that incident and because the changes keep evolving. Montano’s comments make clear that Bernalillo Public Schools is still testing what should stay, what should be expanded and what needs more investment. For families across Sandoval County, the test is not whether schools can promise safety. It is whether the district can show, with drills, reporting, access control and response data, that the promises are holding up in practice.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
