Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Final Minutes 
 
August 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM - Los Alamos Public Schools Board Meeting 
 
1. Pledge of Allegiance 
2. Call to Order 
 
3. Roll Call 
 
President Wyman, Here 
Vice President Coupland, Here 
Secretary Colgan, Here 
Member Jaurigue, Here 
Member Baker, Here 
 
Superintendent Guy 
Recording Secretary Brugh 
 
4. Routine Business/Approval of Agenda 
 
Vice President Coupland: I MOVE the School Board approve the Agenda for August 11, 2026, 
as presented. 
All in favor, AYE 
Motion Carries 
 
5. Recognition by The Board 
 
Los Alamos Middle School Athletic Director Doug Weiss has been selected as the 2026 Northeast 
Region Athletic Director of the Year. He was presented the award at the New Mexico Athletic 
Directors Association during their summer conference held in Albuquerque. 
 
Each year, the membership nominates members from their region for awards. An awards committee 
votes for recipients from each region. Weiss was nominated by his peers and selected by the NMADA 
Awards Committee as the Northeast Region AD of the Year for his service to students, the school 
and the NMADA.He also serves as part of the statewide Leadership Training Institute faculty. He also 
serves as the LAPS Assistant Athletic director to Director Guy.  
 
Andrew Bacrania was awarded the 2026 Rensselaer Polytechnic Medal of Honor. He was nominated 
for this honor by LAHS Mathematics and Science departments. Principal Eric Ziegler presented Drew 
with his award during a ceremony attended by his family and members of the science and math 
departments. 
 
Drew is an incredibly strong candidate for the RPI award, said LAHS physics teacher Debbie 
Grothus. Not only does he excel academically, but he is also integral to our astronomy club and 
science both teams. The best thing about Drew, however, is that he is so much fun to have around.

Drew serves as a great representative of Los Alamos High School because of his academic 
excellence and his character, added his AP Calculus teacher, Stephanie Abney. He is always eager 
to learn, help his peers, crack a joke, and create a welcoming environment. His enthusiasm for 
learning and his approachability make him stand above his peers. For more than 100 years, 
Rensselaer, in conjunction with high schools around the world, has awarded the Rensselaer Medal to 
promising secondary school students who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and 
science.  
 
Zachary Sestrick has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the New Mexico School Boards 
Association.He's one of 24 outstanding high school graduating seniors to receive this award. 
Nominations for this scholarship were submitted by New Mexico Boards of Education representing 
eight regions across the state. Selections were based on criteria, including demonstrated leadership, 
academic performance, community involvement, and extracurricular activities.  
 
Zach has served as a school board student liaison for two years, attended school board meetings and 
offered input on topics and agenda items. Zach was also a member of the National Honor Society, 
International Thespian Society, and an NMAA Scholar athlete. He was a Spotlight Award finalist in 
the New Mexico High School Musical Theater Awards and a national qualifier for Lighting Design in 
the International Thespian Excellence Awards. He was also a member of the LAHS Olions, 
Astronomy Club, Key Club, and the Varsity Swim Team. In addition, he works at Duane Smith 
Auditorium, specializing in production and lighting. 
 
Summer interns and seasonal employees Ace Banuelos, Justin Chavez, Alicia Cisneros, Norma 
Cisneros, Angel Fresquez, Isabel Trejo Galan, Maclain Griffin, Anna Lopez-Valdez, Gerardo 
Bojorquez Marquez, Graciela Marquez, Xaedyn Martinez, Zachariah Martinez, Jeff Mason, Alfredo 
Morales, Gavin Oaxaca, Alex Pittman, Anthony Prospere, John Pulsifer, Nicholas Quintana, Xander 
Rigg, Crystal Rodriquez, Wrenne Sapp, Jason Thornton, and Jonathan Vigil. Director of Facilities 
Tommy Castillo thanked the board for supporting the program. Superintendent Guy thanked Mr.  
Mr. Castillo and his advocacy and his dedication to the program, and noted that we are now able to 
give those students credit, and we now have a clear pathway so that if they want to, after graduation, 
they can continue working for the district, and can come in at a higher level of pay and continue 
working for us.  
 
6. a. Student Council Representatives - None 
b. Student Liaison Representative - None 
c. Superintendent’s Report - None 
D. Public Comment for items not on the agenda 
New LAHS French teacher Katie Leonard asked for the board’s support to invite some French guests 
into our high school and classrooms through a company in Oregon, Ondago, which she worked for 
previously.  
 
7. Routine Business/Consent Agenda Items 
Fund & Functions Report 
Adjusting Entries Report 
Budget Adjustment Report

Disposals 
Draft Minutes July 14, 2026 
 
Secretary Colgan: I MOVE the School Board approve the Consent Agenda. 
All in Favor, AYE 
Motion Carries 
 
8. Update on Early Literacy Assessments 
Superintendent Guy updated the board on her concerns about Amira, and the letter that was sent to 
the Public Education Department about these concerns and the request that LAPS  take a pause, 
gather more information, make sure the district’s questions are resolved, and ensure that we can 
thoroughly answer parents’ questions and provide teachers with the most accurate data possible. 
She reported that the Public Education Department responded and granted the district permission to 
pause the program if we choose to do so. We also formally requested that all recordings associated 
with any student who has ever been enrolled in Los Alamos Public Schools or whose information has 
been in the system be deleted. We received written verification that those recordings have been 
deleted. I will be emailing that verification to all parents of elementary K–2 students who used the 
program so they have documentation of that deletion. The district will be using mCLASS 
assessments for all grades aligns better with our literacy program, Amplify CKLA, and our teachers 
had requested it because they felt it was more appropriate for that grade level. We had great success 
using mCLASS assessments in grades 3–5 this past school year. We would like to use the mCLASS 
platform with our youngest learners as well. There are also other districts that have received approval 
to use mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition, so we would not be the only district doing this. Santa Fe and 
Farmington, for example, are also moving in this direction, and I expect there will ultimately be a good 
number of districts that follow suit. 
Superintendent Guy said that the state is also expected to issue another RFP for early literacy 
assessments this fall, so we do not yet know what the state will ultimately award or what the 
assessment landscape will look like moving forward. We would like to use this pause to actively 
participate in those conversations. Amira has reached out and would like to meet with us, and we are 
happy to do that. We want to fully understand the program and address our concerns.  
K-2 teachers will be able to use the Friday afternoon professional development time for training on 
mCLASS. She noted that for our first-grade teachers, there is an additional benefit. They have also 
been administering the Teach Me to Read dyslexia screener. The mCLASS DIBELS assessment 
incorporates that screening, so we are actually taking one assessment off their plate while 
accomplishing the same purpose. We will get the same data using one instrument rather than having 
teachers administer two separate assessments. 
9. Technology Infrastructure Update 
Mark Vigil and Bart Goodman of Advanced Network Management (ANM) presented a network 
infrastructure assessment. ANM conducted a comprehensive assessment of the Los Alamos Public 
Schools network beginning in May after years of widespread connectivity problems. The assessment 
was more extensive and time-consuming than expected, but it produced a roadmap for addressing 
the district’s network issues.

The assessment found that bandwidth is not currently the primary problem. Instead, five major 
issues are contributing to poor performance: 
● Network instability: Switches are repeatedly resetting, in part because of uncontrolled 
broadcast traffic, causing dropped connections and degraded performance. 
● No traffic prioritization: Critical applications such as testing, Google Classroom, and other 
instructional systems compete with non-critical traffic such as YouTube. 
● Undersized/aging wireless infrastructure: The wireless network has too many SSIDs, 
reported dead zones, and access points that are outdated or no longer adequate for current 
device density. 
● Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) overload: Some switches are being overloaded by connected 
devices such as cameras and PA systems, causing switches to reset and devices to go offline. 
● Obsolete hardware: About 36% of the district’s roughly 430 network devices are 
obsolete, although many of those devices only recently reached end-of-life and replacements 
have already been ordered through E-rate funding. 
A&M also identified additional concerns, including unencrypted wireless networks, inadequate 
centralized logging, time synchronization problems, and single points of failure involving the ISP 
connection, firewall, and router. 
Their recommendations moving forward are: 
● Within 30 days: Stabilize the network, correct PoE overloads, conduct wireless site surveys, 
address obsolete equipment, improve wireless security, reduce routing-log problems, and 
synchronize network time services. 
● Within 90 days: Implement traffic prioritization, improve network security configurations, 
consolidate wireless networks, and begin planning for greater internet and firewall redundancy. 
● Within 6–12 months: Refresh hardware at Los Alamos Middle School and APB, verify the 
ReadyNet connection, develop centralized authentication, and address broader cybersecurity, 
disaster recovery, and business-continuity needs. 
Overall, A&M concluded that the district has enough bandwidth for current needs, but the 
network’s instability, configuration problems, wireless limitations, power issues, and aging equipment 
are creating the performance problems staff and students have experienced. The proposed 
remediation plan is intended to stabilize the network first and then address longer-term infrastructure 
and security needs. 
Superintendent Guy requested that leased funds be used for this scope of work with the hope that 
some referendum monies could then reimburse the leased funds. This would enable work to begin 
immediately. 
Member Jaurigue:I move the School Board approve to contract Advanced Network 
Management for network optimization, hardware refresh, and wireless surveys not to exceed 
$475,000.  
All in Favor, AYE 
Motion Carries

10. NMSBA Legislative Resolutions 
The board discussed potential NMSBA legislative resolutions and identified several priorities for the 
upcoming legislative session: 
● Modernize New Mexico’s IPRA laws: Consider measures to prevent abusive or automated 
requests, define reasonable requests, address requests made primarily for commercial gain, 
and clarify how AI-generated or AI-assisted records are treated. 
● Address the cost of IPRA requests: Explore charging requesters for extensive staff, IT, and 
legal work, while ensuring fees do not prevent parents or members of the public from 
accessing information needed for accountability. 
● Fund school technology and cybersecurity through SEG: Consider dedicated SEG funding for 
technology, security systems, cybersecurity, and other technology infrastructure that districts 
must continually maintain. 
● Modernize the school funding formula: Establish a predictable base funding rate and 
distinguish between expenses that vary with enrollment and fixed costs—such as facilities, 
utilities, and maintenance—that districts must cover regardless of student numbers. 
● Review the sunscreen policy: Investigate whether New Mexico law prevents students from 
bringing or applying sunscreen without a doctor’s note and determine whether a legislative 
change is warranted. 
● Revisit the nepotism resolution: The board noted that a previous resolution received support, 
particularly from smaller districts, and may be worth updating. 
The board also learned that a state IPRA task force is currently examining potential legislative 
changes. Members suggested reviewing its work and inviting participants to provide an update before 
developing the district’s own resolution. 
Next steps: Board members were asked to submit additional resolution ideas to Ms. Guy by August 
17, so the committee could develop drafts for the upcoming work session. Staff will also compile 
previous resolutions for the board to review and update. 
11. NMSBA Fall Region II Meeting 
The board discussed plans for the New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA) Region 2 Fall 
Regional Meeting, scheduled for Monday, September 14 and expected to draw approximately 75 
attendees. The meeting will likely be hosted at Pinon Elementary, using the gym and adjacent 
cafeteria. Additional plans including food, entertainment, etc. will be finalized by district staff. 
12. Board Committee Updates 
Policy Committee: The committee is preparing a resolution for a potential first reading. The committee 
is also developing an AI policy addressing student and teacher use of AI as well as potential 
district/business applications and related legal issues. A grading policy is also being developed. 
Finance Committee: The annual audit has begun with a new auditing firm. The auditors have started 
requesting feedback from district staff. 
Native American Parent Advisory Committee (NAPAC): Chairman Harvey is stepping down 
because he is taking on a soccer coaching position. The district will work with the committee and

board to identify a new chair. Meeting times and locations may change because NAPAC is parent-
driven. 
LAPS Foundation: The 5th Annual Hilltopper Run is Sunday, August 16 at Smith's Marketplace, Los 
Alamos.The Los Alamos Schools Foundation 20th anniversary event is scheduled for September 13, 
4–7 p.m. at the Blue Window. Ticket information will be shared and promoted. 
13. Future Business 
Sunday, August 16, 5th Annual Hilltopper Run, Smith's Marketplace, Los Alamos 
Thursday, August 27: LAPS Board Work Session at Pinon Elementary 
Tuesday, September 8: LAPS Board Meeting in LAPS Board Room 
Monday, September 14: Region II Fall NMSBA RMeeting, hosted by LAPS 
Thursday, September 24: LAPS Board Meeting at Chamisa Elementary 
14. Closed Executive Session 
Member Jaurigue: I move the School Board go into a Closed Executive Session pursuant to section 
10-14-1(H)(7)NMSA 1978 to discuss pending legal matters, and, pursuant to Section 10-15-
1(H)(8)NMSA 1978 for the discussion of the purchase, acquisition, or disposal of real property or 
water rights by the public body. 
15. Open Session 
School Board President Wyman stated that the purpose of the discussion in Closed Session was 
limited to the items on the agenda. No action was taken. 
16. Adjournment 
Member Baker: I MOVE we adjourn this meeting. 
All in Favor, AYE 
Motion Carries, 8:52 pm