On Nov.4, local New Mexico voters overwhelmingly approved a multi-million-dollar General Obligation Bond for the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS). The $350 million measure passed with 75% support, allowing the district to enhance infrastructure and safety across school facilities.
The $350 million bond funding will have no impact on property taxes. Instead, it will be paid from funding generated by a mill levy, which voters previously approved. The money will fund a variety of projects across the district focusing on infrastructure improvements, new construction, and security.
The construction projects include the building of a new career technical education student training facility as well as a new special needs education facility. Along with the new construction, the General Obligation bond will help fund the completion of projects at 13 schools. Additionally, 20 district schools will be converted from evaporative coolers to refrigerated air.
A major focus of the bond funding will be placed on investment in security and safety improvements. Projects in this category include:
- Main entry security vestibules with audio and video connection to the front desk.
- A remote buzz-in/out for all visitors to schools.
- Security card access to major school exterior doors.
- Audio enhancement, giving emergency dispatchers the ability to listen in on what’s happening in a particular classroom in the event of a critical incident.
- Commercial heavy-duty locks on every classroom door.
- Security cameras.
- Strategically located emergency and crisis evacuation maps at multiple locations at all facilities.
- Intrusion and fire alarms.
The video and audio features included in the safety improvements will all be monitored and controlled 24/7 in real-time by a state-of-the-art school police/security command center with the ability to stream real-time emergency footage to law enforcement agencies.
Photo by G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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