albuquerque schools planning for new construction and renovation work if combined tax and bond passes

The big Albuquerque Public Schools district may be seeing up to $900 million in new facility construction and upgrading projects if voters prove willing to approve both a property tax increase and new bond.

Revenue from the tax will also pay for improved and enhanced building security measures.

As proposed, homeowners in the district would see a property tax increase of just under 5 percent.

The tax proposal, which residents will be able to vote on by mail until February 7, will ask for a renewal of a current mill levy that is expected to raise $190 million between now and 2025.

The next part of the ballot proposes raising property taxes by one mill and will generate $510 million over the next six years, primarily for security projects and the design work on nearly a dozen new facility projects.

The final question on the ballot calls for a bond issue that will raise $200 million for APS for a variety of new construction, renovation, and infrastructure improvements.

Among the projects to be funded are the $25 million final phase construction of the Janet Kahn School of Integrated Arts; the $24 million replacement of the Arroyo del Oso Elementary School; and the $18 million replacement of the Hubert Humphrey Elementary School.

In a December message urging APS employees to vote in the coming balloting, Superintendent Reedy Raquel said the bond mill levy package, if approved, will fund everything from building new schools “to repairing fences, playgrounds, and heaters to refreshing computers, microscopes, and tubas.”

The APS district makes up the largest school district in New Mexico, serving nearly 100,000 students.

By Garry Boulard

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