A. The "schools in need of improvement fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund includes appropriations, federal allocations for the purposes of the fund, income from investment of the fund, gifts, grants and donations. Balances in the fund shall not revert to any other fund at the end of any fiscal year. The fund shall be administered by the department, and money in the fund is appropriated to the department to provide assistance to public schools in need of improvement. No more than three percent of the fund may be retained by the department for administrative purposes. Money in the fund shall be expended on warrants of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of public education or the secretary's authorized representative.

B. Distributions from the fund shall be by application approved by the department.

History: 1978 Comp., § 22-2A-10, enacted by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 19; 2015, ch. 58, § 10.

Compiler's notes. — Laws 2003, ch. 153, §§ 10 to 20 were enacted as 22-2A-1 to 22-2A-11 NMSA 1978, but were relocated due to the existing Article 2A.

The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, made technical changes to the section; in Subsection A, after "public schools in need of improvement", deleted "and public schools subject to corrective action", after "vouchers signed by the", deleted "state superintendent or his" and added "secretary of public education or the secretary's"; and in Subsection B, after "department", deleted "based on a public school's approved improvement plan as provided in Section 22-2C-7 NMSA 1978".