1 of 22

NMPED Unified Application

2 of 22

Overview & Introductions

OBJECTIVES

AGENDA

Introduce key implementation partners for a Unified Application: Watershed & RESPEC.
Provide background & context on the opportunity to streamline federal grants management in New Mexico.
Discuss an overview of the Unified Application in New Mexico.
Clarify next steps for districts interested in participating in a pilot of the Unified Application for FY 25-26.

Background & Context
Building The Unified Application
PED School Budget
RESPEC

Note: Please reserve any questions for the Q&A survey at the end.

3 of 22

Background and Context

4 of 22

3 Why’s

5 of 22

Background

Since Summer 2023, NMPED & Watershed have:

Managed 14 months of planning sessions across NMPED Curriculum & Instruction, Federal Programs, Finance, and School Budget bureaus;
Engaged individual districts to understand the current challenges and opportunities from a local perspective; and
Coordinated subject matter expertise in federal grants management, legal, and information technology.

The resulting recommendations leverage experience in other states to simplify the process for federal grants through a Unified Application.

Watershed Advisors and the New Mexico Public Education Department have collaborated to assess the current landscape of grant administration and develop a strategy to streamline the process for districts.

6 of 22

Current Landscape in New Mexico

The current planning and budgeting process in New Mexico is characterized by multiple applications, redundant manual data entry, and a compressed timeline that make it hard for districts to leverage resources strategically.

CURRENT STATE

Multiple applications: district must complete independent applications for each federal grant, even when objectives and priorities of these gants overlap (e.g. providing supports to struggling readers);
Redundant manual data entry: districts manually enter duplicate data in each Sharepoint application (e.g. private school lists for equitable share); and
Compressed timeline: districts feel rushed to submit timely applications and enter fiscal year budgets in time for the new state fiscal year.

7 of 22

The Unified Application

8 of 22

The Unified Application

The Unified Application will provide districts a single application for federal plans and streamline compliance processes, allowing districts to focus on strategically using funds to support student learning.

The Unified Application will:

Provide a single platform for districts to complete applications for federal funds;
Align those applications on a single timeline;
Consolidate common requirements across federal programs (e.g. equitable services and needs assessments); and
Automate data entry and calculation to ensure accuracy and compliance with federal requirements.

By reducing administrative burden with a single application, districts will have more time to dedicate to planning and implementation.

9 of 22

Unified Application Overview

District Role	Engagement with Unified Application
Superintendents	Set an overall vision and coordinate work across chief academic officers, federal programs managers, and chief financial officers to complete the Unified Application and align district spending to key priorities.
Federal Programs Directors	Complete key components of the Unified Application alongside superintendents, chief academic officers, and finance teams to communicate the plan and budget.
Chief Academic Officers	Communicate how district decisions regarding key priorities in the Unified Application – Academic Focus for All, Priority Student Groups, and Workforce Talent – will be implemented across the district.
Chief Financial Officers	Support the spending and reporting of federal funds across programs.

A strategic focus on federal grants will allow for coordination across district functions, enhancing collaboration across teams to best meet student needs.

10 of 22

Next Steps

The Unified Application will launch in March 2025 as a pilot. NMPED will release a pilot interest form, due October 18, for districts to indicate their interest in participating.

Building the Unified Application in OBMS.
Conducting internal testing as OBMS modules are built.
Drafting guidance for publication alongside the Unified Application to support districts in completing the application.

CURRENT WORK UNDERWAY

Implementing a plan for district testing of the Unified Application.
Coordinating internal and district-facing support for completing the Unified Application.
Selecting a pilot cohort of districts that will complete the Unified Application for FY 2025-2026.

KEY ACTIVITIES FOR QUARTER 4 (OCT - DEC)

11 of 22

Pilot Participation

NMPED is seeking a diverse group of participants (i.e. geography and size) to participate in the new Unified Application process to ensure its viability and offer feedback for the statewide launch.

Additional considerations for pilot participation:

Districts with robust and consistent executive leadership committed to an iterative process; and
If districts operate in a consortium or have a REC serving as a fiscal agent, all consortia members or districts for which the REC serves as a fiscal agent must apply to participate in the pilot.

The pilot represents an opportunity for districts interested in raising their hand, going first, and partnering with NMPED to launch the Unified Application with an eye to statewide implementation
It will be important during this time to identify a diverse group of stakeholders that are interested in providing feedback and collaborating to set the precedent for an improved grants administration process
This slide provides an overview of some of the considerations for pilot participants; these are not exclusive criteria, but paints a picture of the ideal pilot participation

Ideally districts interested in an interactive process with candid feedback and, in cases where the district has formal relationships through consortia or fiscal agents, all districts with the same relationships participate

All districts interested in participating should complete the interest form

12 of 22

PED School Budget

13 of 22

School Budget Role in UFA

The pilot represents an opportunity for districts interested in raising their hand, going first, and partnering with NMPED to launch the Unified Application with an eye to statewide implementation
It will be important during this time to identify a diverse group of stakeholders that are interested in providing feedback and collaborating to set the precedent for an improved grants administration process
This slide provides an overview of some of the considerations for pilot participants; these are not exclusive criteria, but paints a picture of the ideal pilot participation

Ideally districts interested in an interactive process with candid feedback and, in cases where the district has formal relationships through consortia or fiscal agents, all districts with the same relationships participate

All districts interested in participating should complete the interest form

14 of 22

Alignment with Federal Priorities

The pilot represents an opportunity for districts interested in raising their hand, going first, and partnering with NMPED to launch the Unified Application with an eye to statewide implementation
It will be important during this time to identify a diverse group of stakeholders that are interested in providing feedback and collaborating to set the precedent for an improved grants administration process
This slide provides an overview of some of the considerations for pilot participants; these are not exclusive criteria, but paints a picture of the ideal pilot participation

Ideally districts interested in an interactive process with candid feedback and, in cases where the district has formal relationships through consortia or fiscal agents, all districts with the same relationships participate

All districts interested in participating should complete the interest form

15 of 22

Building the UFA

RESPEC

16 of 22

Who We Are

RESPEC is the 2nd largest IT vendor serving state agencies in New Mexico

Established Roots – RESPEC has been helping government agencies achieve their goals in the state of New Mexico for over 50 years.

Proven Background – We have been on the Statewide Price Agreement since 1999, and have delivered on more than 316 state contracts since 2006.

17 of 22

What We Do

18 of 22

Custom Software

The Unified Application will be built using a Custom Software approach

Customization – The resulting system will be uniquely tailored to the needs of New Mexico instead of trying to find a “One Size Fits All” solution.

Streamlined Workflows – We will work with end users to define and implement efficient workflows that minimize redundancy.�
Automation – Custom business logic will identify opportunities for automation, reducing unnecessary efforts when filling out the Unified Application.�
Consistency – Purpose-driven data interactions will ensure that data across the Unified Application is consistent, clean, and valid.

19 of 22

Leveraging OBMS

The Unified Application will be integrated into the Operating Budget Management System (OBMS)

Maturity – The system has been supporting PED’s budgeting operations for 19 years.

Familiarity – There exists a widespread familiarity with OBMS across PED because so many PED operations are already encapsulated within the system.�
Accelerated Timeline – Taking advantage of OBMS’ robust architecture will let us hit the ground running.�
Ease of Use – Adding the UFA to OBMS will allow for the use of existing data and minimize duplicative efforts on the user’s behalf.

20 of 22

Moving Forward

21 of 22

Next Steps

Please send questions & comments to:

Kenneth Stowe

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Kenneth.Stowe@ped.nm.gov

Please complete the exit survey:

Also available at: https://tinyurl.com/oct8nmped

22 of 22

Questions/Feedback?