Broadband | New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority

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Senate Bill (SB) 159 was passed into law in March 2014 with an emergency clause due to the need for assistance with broadband in K-12 public schools located throughout the State of New Mexico, especially in rural areas. SB159 was sponsored by Senator Jacob Candelaria and co-sponsored by Representative Mimi Stewart. The bill allows the Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) to expend up to $10 million annually for the next five fiscal years (FY15 - FY19), to correct deficiencies in broadband infrastructure affecting public schools statewide.

New Mexico Senate Bill 159

SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Capital Outlay Act is enacted to read:

"EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIENCY CORRECTIONS.—

A. No later than September 1, 2014, the council, with the advice of the public education department and the department of information technology, shall define and develop:

(1) minimum adequacy standards for an education technology infrastructure deficiency corrections initiative to identify and determine reasonable costs for correcting education technology infrastructure deficiencies in or affecting school districts;

(2) a methodology for prioritizing projects to correct education technology infrastructure deficiencies in or affecting school districts; and

(3) a methodology for determining a school district's share of the project costs.

B. The council may approve allocations from the fund pursuant to Subsection M of Section 22-24-4 NMSA 1978 and this section for projects in or affecting a school district committing to pay its share of the project costs. The council may adjust the school district's share of the project costs in accordance with Paragraph (9) of Subsection B of Section 22-24-5 NMSA 1978 or the methodology for determining the school district's share of the project costs."

SECTION 5. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.

The State of New Mexico’s Public Education Department (PED) and Department of Information Technology (DoIT) serve as advisors to the BDCP that is managed by the Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) with Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) oversight.

The PSFA values the many Service Providers, State Agencies, and other organizations that have supported the development of this important program.

The BDCP Internet speed standard is a minimum of 100 kbps (kilobits per second) per student and staff with the goal of 1,000 kbps per student and staff by 2018. These specifications match the standards currently set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).

PSFA Broadband Map

Collocation Opportunities for the Upcoming Fiber School Projects

Please email general questions/comments to: bdcp@nmpsfa.org

PSFA Albuquerque
1312 Basehart Rd. SE.
Suite #200
Abq, NM 87106-4365
Telephone: (505) 843-6272
Facsimile: (505) 843-9681

PSFA Broadband Contacts

Ovidiu Viorica, Broadband Program Manager - oviorica@nmpsfa.org
Richard Govea, Broadband Project Manager - rgovea@nmpsfa.org
Jerry Smith, Broadband Project Manager - jsmith@nmpsfa.org
Ruth Bingham, Broadband Administrative Assistant - rbingham@nmpsfa.org

Governor's Broadband Initiative Website