Lujan Grisham Introduces Legislation to Transfer Ownership of Amy Biehl High School Building and Land

Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) today introduced legislation to facilitate the transfer of Amy Biehl High School's building and land from the federal government to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation. The charter school, which is named after a young Fulbright scholar from Santa Fe who was tragically killed in 1993 while working to end apartheid in South Africa, currently leases its building and property from the United States General Services Administration.

"Amy Biehl's legacy of opportunity, compassion and academic excellence lives on through the young minds that are shaped every day at Amy Biehl High School," Rep. Lujan Grisham said. "This legislation will help Amy Biehl High School continue to provide New Mexico students with a first-rate education while also preserving a historic piece of downtown Albuquerque."

Since 2006, Amy Biehl High School has called the Old Post Office and Courthouse at the corner of Fourth and Gold in downtown Albuquerque home. Built in 1908, the building is listed on the U.S. Register of Historic Places and the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties. Amy Biehl High School was originally able to move into the building, which sat unoccupied since 2001, thanks to robust public and private sector partnerships that raised $4 million for renovations. The Amy Biehl High School Foundation and the General Services Administration determined that transferring ownership is in the best interest of both the school and the federal government. Rep. Lujan Grisham's bill would direct the General Services Administration to sell at fair market value the current Amy Biehl building and land to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation.

"For 14 years now, Amy Biehl High School has excelled at graduating civic-minded, college-bound students who are prepared to make a difference in the world -- 98 percent of graduates attend college," Amy Biehl High School Principal Mike May said. "The school's location in the heart of downtown Albuquerque has facilitated the school's focus on community engagement. Amy Biehl High School is extremely appreciative of its historic home and would like to thank Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senator Tom Udall for their efforts to transfer this historic asset to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation, ensuring its continued service to the education of New Mexico's youth."

U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) has twice introduced legislation in the United States Senate to facilitate the building and land transfer. In 2012, Sen. Udall's legislation (S. 3370) was approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, but did not receive a vote on the Senate floor before the end of the 112th Congress. Sen. Udall reintroduced the bill (S. 898) last year, and it is scheduled to be considered by the Committee on Environment and Public Works on Thursday, February 6. The bill Rep. Lujan Grisham introduced today will serve as the House companion legislation to Sen. Udall's bill.

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