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Mora Independent Schools, New Mexico, elections

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Mora Independent Schools
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 5
Next election: November 4, 2025
Students: 433 (2022-2023)
Schools: 4 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Mora Independent Schools is a school district in New Mexico (Mora County). During the 2023 school year, 433 students attended one of the district's four schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

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Mora Independent School District school board, At-large

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Mora Independent School District school board, At-large (2 seats)

Julian Floyd Barela, Beverly Joann Dobbins-Montoya, Joey M. Romero, Victoria Valdez, and Audra L. Vigil are running in the general election for Mora Independent School District school board, At-large on November 4, 2025.


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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in New Mexico are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: August 26, 2025
  • General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in New Mexico are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in New Mexico are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3(B) states, "A regular local election shall be a nonpartisan election, and the names of all candidates shall be listed on the ballot with no party or slate designation."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Constitution Article VII Section 5

Term length and staggering

School board members have four-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 22-5-8

School districts elect as close as to half of their school board members as possible at one general election, and the other half at a general election two years later. Upon the formation of a newly created, three school board members will be elected for two-year terms and the other two school board members will be elected for four-year terms to ensure staggered elections. Albuquerque School District is the only district with seven board members, and elects four school board members at one general election and the other three school board members two years later.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 22-4-13

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected either at large or from single-member election subdistricts, depending on the size of the school district. As of 2022, 28 districts (31%) had board members elected by single-member district and 61 districts (69%) had board members elected by at-large.

School board members in districts having a population in excess of 16,000 must be elected from single-member subdistricts.

School boards in districts with less than 16,000 population have the option of establishing single-member board subdistricts or continuing to elect members at large.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 22-5-1.1 & New Mexico School Boards Association Handbook Chapter II Section A

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

School board candidates must file declarations of candidacy by 5:00 PM on the 70th day prior to the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 1-22-7

School board candidates can file between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on the 70th day prior to the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 1-22-7

Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: New Mexico Statute 1-2-18

 


About the district

School board

Mora Independent Schools consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Monica Aragon
Nick Hernandez
Victoria Valdez
Doris Velarde
Audra Vigil

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

Mora Independent Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
New Mexico House of Representatives District 40Joseph SanchezDemocratic Party 100% 13%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $3,419,000 $8,359 38%
Local: $315,000 $770 4%
State: $5,304,000 $12,968 59%
Total: $9,038,000 $22,098
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $9,127,000 $22,315
Total Current Expenditures: $8,503,000 $20,789
Instructional Expenditures: $3,217,000 $7,865 35%
Student and Staff Support: $1,309,000 $3,200 14%
Administration: $1,111,000 $2,716 12%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $2,866,000 $7,007 31%
Total Capital Outlay: $523,000 $1,278
Construction: $95,000 $232
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $0 $0
Interest on Debt: $0 $0

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 6-9 6-9 <50
2018-2019 12 10-14 <50
2016-2017 13 PS 10-14 PS <50
2015-2016 14 PS 10-14 PS <50
2014-2015 11 10-14 PS <=20
2013-2014 36 PS 35-39 PS 21-39
2012-2013 42 40-44 PS 40-59
2011-2012 48 PS 45-49 PS 40-59
2010-2011 44 PS 40-44 PS 40-59

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 60-64 55-59 >=50
2018-2019 24 20-24 <50
2016-2017 22 PS 20-24 PS <50
2015-2016 16 PS 15-19 PS <50
2014-2015 19 15-19 PS 21-39
2013-2014 46 PS 45-49 PS 60-79
2012-2013 49 45-49 PS 40-59
2011-2012 46 PS 45-49 PS 40-59
2010-2011 51 PS 50-54 PS 40-59

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 >=80 >=80 PS
2018-2019 80-89 PS 80-89 PS
2017-2018 >=90 PS >=90 PS
2016-2017 70-79 70-79 PS
2015-2016 80-89 >=80 PS
2014-2015 70-79 70-79
2013-2014 70-79 60-79 PS
2012-2013 80-89 80-89
2011-2012 80-89 80-89 PS
2010-2011 80-89 70-79 >=50

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 433 5.3
2021-2022 410 0.2
2020-2021 409 -0.2
2019-2020 410 2.7
2018-2019 399 -4.5
2017-2018 417 1.4
2016-2017 411 -4.9
2015-2016 431 -3.0
2014-2015 444 -5.4
2013-2014 468 -4.3
2012-2013 488 -3.3
2011-2012 504 -1.8
2010-2011 513 2.1
2009-2010 502 -8.8
2008-2009 546 -4.4
2007-2008 570 -5.1
2006-2007 599 -4.7
2005-2006 627 -2.1
2004-2005 640 -0.8
2003-2004 645 -7.4
2002-2003 693 -3.6
2001-2002 718 8.1
2000-2001 660 -7.0
1999-2000 706 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Mora Independent Schools (%) New Mexico K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.0 10.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 1.3
Black 0.0 1.8
Hispanic 96.3 63.4
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.1
Two or More Races 0.0 2.4
White 3.2 20.8

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Mora Independent Schools had 36.00 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 12.03.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.95
Kindergarten: 2.00
Elementary: 15.78
Secondary: 14.22
Total: 36.00

Mora Independent Schools employed 0.00 district administrators and 2.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 0.00
District Administrative Support: 0.00
School Administrators: 2.00
School Administrative Support: 4.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 6.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 0.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 2.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 1.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 1.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 0.25
Other Support Services: 8.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Mora Independent Schools operates four schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Holman Elementary47PK-KG
Lazaro Larry Garcia Middle936-8
Mora Elementary1681-5
Mora High1259-12

About school boards

Education legislation in New Mexico

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics New Mexico
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External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic
  • Footnotes