As used in the Public School Capital Improvements Act:

A. "program unit" means the product of the program element multiplied by the applicable cost differential factor, as defined in Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978; and

B. "capital improvements" means expenditures, including payments made with respect to lease-purchase arrangements as defined in the Education Technology Equipment Act or the Public School Lease Purchase Act but excluding any other debt service expenses, for:

(1) erecting, remodeling, making additions to, providing equipment for or furnishing public school buildings and pre-kindergarten classroom facilities;

(2) purchasing or improving public school or pre-kindergarten grounds;

(3) maintenance of public school buildings or public school or pre-kindergarten grounds, including the purchasing or repairing of maintenance equipment and participating in the facility information management system as required by the Public School Capital Outlay Act and including payments under contracts with regional education cooperatives for maintenance support services and expenditures for technical training and certification for maintenance and facilities management personnel, but excluding salary expenses of school district employees;

(4) purchasing activity vehicles for transporting students to extracurricular school activities;

(5) purchasing computer software and hardware for student use in public school classrooms; and

(6) purchasing and installing education technology improvements, excluding salary expenses of school district employees, but including tools used in the educational process that constitute learning and administrative resources, and that may also include:

(a) satellite, copper and fiber-optic transmission; computer and network connection devices; digital communication equipment, including voice, video and data equipment; servers; switches; portable media devices, such as discs and drives to contain data for electronic storage and playback; and the purchase or lease of software licenses or other technologies and services, maintenance, equipment and computer infrastructure information, techniques and tools used to implement technology in schools and related facilities; and

(b) improvements, alterations and modifications to, or expansions of, existing buildings or tangible personal property necessary or advisable to house or otherwise accommodate any of the tools listed in this paragraph.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-25-2, enacted by Laws 1975 (S.S.), ch. 5, § 2; 1981, ch. 314, § 1; 1989, ch. 159, § 1; 1996, ch. 67, § 2; 1999, ch. 89, § 2; 2004, ch. 125, § 12; 2006, ch. 95, § 9; 2007, ch. 366, § 13; 2009, ch. 258, § 8; 2017, ch. 73, § 1; 2019, ch. 179, § 3.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, included "pre-kindergarten classroom facilities" within the definition of "capital improvements" as used in the Public School Capital Improvements Act; in Subsection B, Paragraph B(1), after "school buildings", added "and pre-kindergarten classroom facilities", in Paragraph B(2), after "public school", added "or pre-kindergarten", and in Paragraph B(3), after "public school", added "or pre-kindergarten".

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, expanded allowable expenditures to include purchasing and installing education technology improvements, excluding salary expenses of school district employees, but including certain tools used in the educational process; in Subsection B, at the end of Paragraph B(4), deleted "or", at the end of Paragraph B(5), added "and", and added Paragraph B(6).

The 2009 amendment, effective April 8, 2009, in Subsection B, added the reference to the Public School Lease Purchase Act; deleted former Paragraph (2) of Subsection B, which excluded lease payments on a lease with option to purchase; and in Paragraph (3) of Subsection B, added the language between "public school grounds" and "including payments under contracts", and after "including payments under contracts", added "with regional education cooperatives".

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, added Paragraph (2) of Subsection B to include within the definition of "capital improvements" payments made for lease purchases.

The 2006 amendment, effective March 6, 2006, in Paragraph (3) of Subsection B, included payments under contracts for maintenance support services.

The 2004 amendment, effective May 19, 2004, in Paragraph (3) of Subsection B, deleted "exclusive of" preceding "salary expenses" and added "including expenditures for technical training and certification for maintenance and facilities management personnel, but excluding".

The 1999 amendment, effective March 19, 1999, substituted the language beginning "including payments" and ending "any other" for "exclusive of any" in Subsection B.

The 1996 amendment, effective May 15, 1996, added Paragraph B(5).

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, added Subsection B(4).