2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 22 - Public Schools › Article 18 - General Obligation Bonds of School Districts › Section 22-18-1 - General obligation bonds; authority to issue.

A. After consideration of the priorities for the school district's capital needs as shown by the facility assessment database maintained by the public school facilities authority and subject to the provisions of Article 9, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico and Sections 6-15-1 and 6-15-2 NMSA 1978, a school district may issue general obligation bonds for the purpose of:
(1) erecting, remodeling, making additions to and furnishing school buildings, including teacher housing;
(2) purchasing or improving school grounds;
(3) purchasing computer software and hardware for student use in public schools;
(4) providing matching funds for capital outlay projects funded pursuant to the Public School Capital Outlay Act [Chapter 22, Article 24 NMSA 1978]; or
(5) any combination of these purposes.
B. The bonds shall be fully negotiable and constitute negotiable instruments within the meaning and for all purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code [Chapter 55 NMSA 1978].
History:
1953 Comp., § 77-15-1, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 228; 1996, ch. 67, § 1; 2005, ch. 274, § 14; 2007, ch. 173, § 21; 2009, ch. 132, § 1; 2021, ch. 52, § 7.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For public school finances generally,
see
22-8-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For school revenue bonds,
see
22-19-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For school construction,
see
22-20-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For public school emergency capital outlays,
see
22-24-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For public school capital improvements,
see
22-25-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For constitutional provision relating to school district indebtedness,
see
N.M. Const., art. IX, § 11.
For issuance and sale of bonds by school districts generally,
see
6-15-3 to 6-15-10 NMSA 1978.
For issuance of refunding bonds by school districts generally,
see
6-15-11 to 6-15-22 NMSA 1978.
For the Public School Lease Purchase Act,
see
22-26A-1 NMSA 1978.
The 2021 amendment,
effective July 1, 2021, authorized general obligation bonds to be used to erect, remodel, or make additions to teacher housing; and in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), after "buildings", added "including teacher housing".
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, deleted former Paragraph (5) of Subsection A, which provided for payment pursuant to a financing agreement for the leasing of a building or other real property with an option to purchase.
The 2007 amendment,
effective June 15, 2007, added Paragraph (5) of Subsection A to provide for the issuance of bonds to make certain lease payments.
The 2005 amendment,
effective April 6, 2005, provided that a school district may issue bonds after considering the priorities for the school district's capital needs as shown by the facility assessment database maintained by the public school facilities authority and that bonds may be issued to provide matching funds for capital outlay projects funded pursuant to the Public School Capital Outlay Act.
The 1996 amendment,
effective May 15, 1996, inserted "purchasing computer software and hardware for student use in public schools" near the end of the first sentence.
General obligation bond proceeds for teacher housing.
— A school district contemplating issuing general obligations bonds under 22-18-1 NMSA 1978 for the purpose of "erecting, remodeling, making additions to and furnishing school buildings" may, according to 22-18-1(A)(1) NMSA 1978, use the proceeds of said bonds for the construction, maintenance and repair of teacher housing.
Use of General Obligation Bond Proceeds and Public School Capital Improvements Act Revenue for Construction of Teacher Housing
(12/1/2022), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2022-13,
overruling
1981 N.M. Att'y Gen. 81-01.
"School building".
— The term "school building" has been defined by the courts in the context of the expenditure of revenues from a bond issue to mean a structure which is used for teaching. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-01.
Buildings for teacher housing not school buildings.
— Buildings used for teacher housing, which are not used for instructional purposes, do not fall within the meaning of the term "school building" as it is commonly used in bonding provisions. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-01.
Revenues generated by school district general obligation bonds or pursuant to the Public School Capital Improvements Act may not be spent to construct teacher housing. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-01.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. —
64 Am. Jur. 2d Public Securities and Obligations §§ 120, 122.
For article, "No Cake For Zuni: The Constitutionality of New Mexico's Public School Capital Finance System," see 37 N.M.L. Rev. 307 (2007).