Maxwell vs Reserve
NM · 87 students • NM · 97 students • fiscal year 2024 • swap sides
In one line
- Reserve spends 45% more per student than Maxwell after adjusting for local price levels.
- Both direct a similar share of each operating dollar to classrooms.
Are these even comparable?
Establish the shape of each district before reading a single dollar figure.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 87 | 97 |
| Schools | 3 | 2 |
| Grades served | PK–12 | PK–12 |
| Setting | Rural | Rural |
| County | Colfax County | Catron County |
| State | NM | NM |
| Local price level (US = 100) Above 100 means a dollar buys less here than the national average. | 92.2 | 92.2 |
The headline dollar
Current operating spending per student, shown three ways. The first is what each district reports. The second and third are the honest ones for comparison.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Per student, as reported | $29,375 | $42,474 |
| Per student, price-adjusted Divided by the local price level, so both figures are in the same money. | $31,856 | $46,061 |
| Per student, price-adjusted, excluding transport Transportation provision varies enormously between districts and states. Removing it compares the parts both districts actually do. | $31,178 | $43,413 |
| Capital spending per student Buildings and land, never folded into the operating figures above. It is lumpy: a district mid-build looks expensive for two years. | Locked | Locked |
Maxwell
Reserve
Where the money comes from
The funding mix determines how exposed a district is to local property values, to state politics, and to federal programmes ending.
Maxwell
- Local 9.5% Locked
- State 81.4% Locked
- Federal 9.1% Locked
Reserve
- Local 18.6% Locked
- State 69.8% Locked
- Federal 11.6% Locked
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Local share of revenue Mostly property tax. A high share means school budgets track local property values, up and down. | 9.5% | 18.6% |
| State share of revenue | 81.4% | 69.8% |
| Federal share of revenue | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| Total revenue | Locked | Locked |
How NM funds its districts
We have not yet written up NM's funding formula, so nothing is claimed here.
How NM funds its districts
We have not yet written up NM's funding formula, so nothing is claimed here.
Where the money goes
The same slices in the same order for both districts, plus the differences by function — because two pie charts side by side hide exactly the thing you want to see.
Maxwell
- Instruction 51.8% Locked
- Instructional staff support 1.1% Locked
- Student support 8.8% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 9.9% Locked
- Transportation 2.1% Locked
- Food service 4.8% Locked
- School administration 6.5% Locked
- District administration 10.0% Locked
- Other support 4.8% Locked
- Other current 4.8% Locked
Reserve
- Instruction 50.6% Locked
- Instructional staff support 2.6% Locked
- Student support 5.6% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 12.6% Locked
- Transportation 5.7% Locked
- Food service 3.7% Locked
- School administration 8.7% Locked
- District administration 7.3% Locked
- Other support 3.2% Locked
- Other current 3.7% Locked
What is actually different
Share of each district's operating dollar, Maxwell minus Reserve. Two pie charts side by side are almost impossible to read against each other; this is the same data as one chart.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Cents of each operating dollar reaching classrooms Instruction plus instructional staff support, as a share of current spending. | 53.0% | 53.2% |
| Administration share District office plus school administration. | 16.6% | 16.0% |
| Transportation share | 2.1% | 5.7% |
What the money buys
Staffing levels are the most direct thing a budget converts into.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher This is a staffing ratio: total enrollment divided by teaching staff. It is NOT average class size. Actual classes are larger than this number in every district. | 6.2 | 5.4 |
| Students per counselor | Locked | Locked |
| Students per administrator | Locked | Locked |
| Total salaries All staff, not teachers alone. | Locked | Locked |
Who they serve
The answer to "but they serve different kids" — which is usually a fair objection.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Child poverty rate Children aged 5 to 17 in poverty within the district boundary. Used instead of free-lunch eligibility, which community eligibility has made unusable for comparison. | 27.7% | 30.5% |
| English learners | 0 | 0 |
| Students with disabilities | 0 | 0 |
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -37.0% | -20.5% |
Results, and results for the money
Stability and risk
The homebuyer’s real question: what is likely to change after I move in?
Maxwell
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
- Low share reaching classrooms Under 55% of current spending reaches instruction and instructional support, low against national practice.
Reserve
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
- Low share reaching classrooms Under 55% of current spending reaches instruction and instructional support, low against national practice.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -37.0% | -20.5% |
| Long-term debt per student | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service share of spending | Locked | Locked |
Enrolling a child
Is a seat at your zoned school guaranteed?
Maxwell
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
Reserve
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
- This is the district’s own published wording, not our summary of it. Policies are rewritten between enrollment seasons and a page can be out of date the day after we read it — the school office is the only authority on whether a particular grade at a particular school is full right now.
- A warning here is about capacity, not about your address. It does not mean your child will be moved; it means the district has told you in writing that it may move them.
Comparability notes
- At least one district sits outside a metro area with its own published price index, so its cost adjustment uses the statewide index. That is a coarser adjustment.
What these numbers are, exactly
Who decides, and what it costs you
Every band above this one asks what a district spends. This one asks who chose to.
Maxwell
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
Reserve
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
| Maxwell | Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| School property tax levied, per student Only for districts that levy in their own name. Blank where the county or town levies instead — see the cards above, and read the next row. | $1,712 | $3,084 |
| Appropriated by the county or town, per student What the parent government handed the schools, for dependent systems. This is a general appropriation, not solely property tax. | — | — |
| Property tax as a share of all revenue How much of the budget rides on local property values, and therefore on local votes. | 4.2% | 6.0% |
| Long-term debt already owed, per student The balance at the end of the year, for scale. Repaid over decades, so it is a commitment made by earlier boards rather than a bill arriving now. | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service as a share of spending Interest plus principal repaid this year, against total spending. This is the part of the debt that is being paid now, out of money that would otherwise reach a classroom. | Locked | Locked |
| New long-term debt issued, per student Money borrowed during fiscal year 2024. What this figure does and does not tell you is set out under the table. | $10,577 | $0 |
- Reserve: issued no new long-term debt in fiscal year 2024. That is a reported zero, not a gap in the data.
- A figure in the borrowing row is not a bond voters approved. It records debt issued, and that includes refinancing existing debt at a new rate — which changes nothing about what a district owes — as well as certificates of participation and lease-revenue debt, which in many states a board can issue with no referendum at all. To find out what was actually on a ballot, check the county election office.
- Debt is repaid over decades. A large balance per student is a commitment made by earlier boards and earlier voters, not a bill arriving this year. The debt service row above it is the part being paid now.
Who sits on the board
Maxwell board of education
- Mary Lou Kern — President
- Kacie Deines — Vice President
- Eliza Galli — Secretary
- Randy Casper — Member
- Devon Cruz — Member
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-24. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Funding measures on the ballot
Maxwell
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-07 | Capital levy collected 2025–2030 · $2.00 per $1,000 of assessed valueMAXWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ($2.00 MILL) TAX QUESTION: Shall the Board of Education of the Maxwell Municipal School Dis…MAXWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ($2.00 MILL) TAX QUESTION: Shall the Board of Education of the Maxwell Municipal School District No. 26, County of Colfax, State of New Mexico, be authorized to impose a property tax of $2.00 on each $1,000.00 of net taxable value of the property allocated to the District under the Property Tax Code for the property tax years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 for capital improvements in the District including payments made with respect to lease-purchase arrangements as defined in the Education Technology Equipment Ac |
— | 75.4% | No outcome published |
One measure has no outcome in the state’s file. We show the vote share and stop there.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2025-11-04.
What this state publishes: School district questions from every Regular Local Election since the first one in 2019 — bonds, capital improvements and buildings taxes, and mill levies. Nothing before 2019: districts ran their own February elections until the Local Election Act moved them to a common November ballot, and the Secretary of State did not publish those. The Secretary of State publishes no pass or fail for a ballot question, so every row here carries the vote counts and no result.
Reserve
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-11-05 | Capital levy collected 2019–2024 · $2.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuePUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT TAX (2 MILL) QUESTION: Shall the Board of Education of the Reserve Independent School District No. 1, County of Catr…PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT TAX (2 MILL) QUESTION: Shall the Board of Education of the Reserve Independent School District No. 1, County of Catron, State of New Mexico, be authorized to impose a property tax of $2.00 on each $1,000.00 of net taxable value of the property allocated to the District under the Property Tax Code for the property tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 for capital improvements in the District including payments made with respect to lease-purchase arrangements as defined in the Education Technology Equipment Ac |
— | 43.2% | No outcome published |
One measure has no outcome in the state’s file. We show the vote share and stop there.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2025-11-04.
What this state publishes: School district questions from every Regular Local Election since the first one in 2019 — bonds, capital improvements and buildings taxes, and mill levies. Nothing before 2019: districts ran their own February elections until the Local Election Act moved them to a common November ballot, and the Secretary of State did not publish those. The Secretary of State publishes no pass or fail for a ballot question, so every row here carries the vote counts and no result.
- A vote share is not an outcome. What it takes to carry varies by state and by measure — in some states a bond needs a supermajority and a minimum turnout while a levy on the same ballot needs half, so a clear majority can still lose. Every outcome shown here is copied from the state’s own election file, and the rule that applied is stated with the coverage above. Where that file stated no outcome we show whatever count it published and no verdict, rather than working one out from the percentage — and some states publish the ballot question without ever recording a count, so a blank there is a number nobody printed.
- These are the measures a district put to its voters, not its whole tax bill. A property tax bill also carries county, city and state levies that have nothing to do with schools, and in most states a school board can issue some kinds of debt with no vote at all.
The detailed figures for Maxwell and Reserve
The verdict, the headline dollar, the funding shares, who is served and every comparability caveat are free above, and stay free. What is behind the lock is the detail you would want before acting on any of it:
- capital spending per student
- total revenue and total current spending, and the funding mix in dollars (the percentage shares stay free)
- the ten-line per-student breakdown of where the money goes
- counselor and administrator ratios, and the total salary bill
- the debt behind the risk flags — per student, and as a share of spending
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