Los Lunas Schools approves $144.6 million budget amid enrollment decline

Families and school employees in Los Lunas will feel the 2026-27 budget first in staffing, pay and benefits: the district locked in a $144,572,592 spending plan that preserves a 1 percent salary increase, keeps the 80-20 insurance split and avoids layoffs even as enrollment keeps slipping.

The Los Lunas Board of Education approved the plan unanimously on April 28, and district leaders said they were able to balance it by leaning on natural attrition instead of cutting workers outright. Chief financial officer Sandy Traczek said the district absorbed a drop of 243 students, but no employee lost a position. The staffing changes came from not filling vacancies, including 10 general education teacher slots and several administrative and classified roles, while the district held the number of administrators steady at 56.

The budget works in part because state funding rose enough to cushion the loss of students. Traczek said the state’s unit value increased from $6,801 to an initial $7,017.10, which helped produce an estimated increase of about $602,331 in SEG revenue compared with the current year. That gain offset the lower program units tied to falling enrollment, but it does not erase the pressure created by fewer children in the system and higher operating costs across the district.

Los Lunas Schools says it educates more than 8,300 students in 12 surrounding communities, but state enrollment data show the decline is real. New Mexico Vistas lists the district at 8,160 students for 2024-25, down from 8,242 in 2023-24. The district’s tribal education status report says it operates ten elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools and a family school digital academy, which means even small enrollment changes can ripple through classrooms, staffing and support services across Los Lunas, Valencia County and the Rio Grande Valley.

The budget now goes to the New Mexico Public Education Department for final approval before the July 1 deadline. That state review matters because the district’s financial cushion is temporary: medical insurance costs are projected to rise 9.95 percent on Oct. 1, and continued enrollment losses could force harder choices in next year’s budget cycle. For now, district leaders have protected paychecks and health coverage, but the long-term strain from smaller enrollment and rising benefit costs remains in place.