NNMC Board of Regents Meeting in El Rito Today (8/25/23)

By Jake Arnold
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The Northern New Mexico College Board (NNMC) of Regents (BOR) are holding their monthly meeting today in El Rito beginning at 9:00 am.  This is the second monthly BOR meeting in a row for the historic "home" campus of the college for El Rito.  This meeting will be at the old Boardroom upstairs in Delgado Hall, the main administration building and oldest structure on the campus, rather than in Alumni Hall (North Dorm building), the site for most other NNMC events in El Rito over the past several years.
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One agenda item for this BOR meeting, in particular, is an "informational" staff report regarding the financial affairs of the NNMC Branch Community College and, specifically, disposition of the mill levy property tax receipts, collected since 2019, that provide virtually the sole funding for the NNMC Branch Community College, which is legally a separate  governmental/educational entity distinct from NNMC, but closely associated with, and managed by, the "parent" NNMC.  The geographic footprint of the NNMC Branch Community College "district," includes all territory within the boundaries of five area public school districts, Espanola Valley, Chama Valley, Jemez Mountains, Mesa Vista and Pojoaque.  Voters residing in that geographic footprint approved the mill levy property tax assessments via a general election ballot "referendum" question put before them in 2019.

By law, the president of NNMC (position currently held by Hector Balderas) is concurrently the president of the NNMC Branch Community College.  A NNMC Branch Community College advisory board (mandated by he enabling 2019 legislation) is required to  approve the annual budget (funded by the mill levy taxes) for that educational entity.   Decisions regarding the instructional curriculum for the NNMC Branch Community College are the responsibility of the NNMC president and the NNMC BOR.

Early on in the agenda for today's BOR is the customary "public comment" period. 

Several citizens, who have been closely following the affairs of both NNMC and the NNMC Branch Community College, intend to address the BOR during this public comment time period.  One of the primary concerns of these friends of the college is the disposition of those mill levy funds since 2019 and the operations of the NNMC Branch Community College, which include "dual credit" technical/vocational instruction for high school senior from area high schools.  Another concern to be articulated during the public comment period is the status of long-awaited completion of the promised "resurrection" of the campus in El Rito, restoring that campus to full use (classroom/laboratory space, dorms, restaurant, etc.).

The 2019 legislation allowing the creation of the NNMC Branch Community College established the site of operations of that institution as either/or the two NNMC campuses in El Rito and Espanola.  But the campus in El Rito may also be utilized for other NNMC educational programs as well as a site for education-related conferences and other El Rito community events such as those sponsored by the El Rito Arts Association.

Others who may have an interest in these NNMC/NNMC Branch Community College/El Rito campus-related matters are encouraged to participate in the public comment period set forth in the 8/25/23 BOR agenda.
Agenda Attached