Schools Election Today: APS, CNM, RR

It’s election day for Albuquerque Public Schools and Central New Mexico Community College.

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, voters can cast their ballots at any of 56 locations in Bernalillo County. At stake are four seats on the school board – three of which are contested – two capital funding questions and five seats on the CNM governing board, two of which are contested.

During early voting, which closed Friday, 1,750 voters cast their ballots in person. The number of absentee ballots cast is 623, and 349 more have been sent out but not yet returned, according to the county clerk’s office. Absentee ballots can be turned in at any polling place until 7 p.m.

Voters will be asked to approve two funding questions for Albuquerque Public Schools, worth a total of $368 million. If approved, one question would authorize the district to sell $200 million in bonds to fund larger projects at APS. The second asks voters to approve $168 million in direct property taxes.

If approved, the questions would not increase tax rates, but would keep them at their current level. If the questions are defeated, annual property taxes on a home worth $150,000 would decrease by about $105.

APS officials say the theme for the upcoming funding cycle is remodeling and maintaining current schools, rather than building new ones.

The APS school board will have at least one new face due to redistricting, which added a new West Side district and consolidated districts on the east side of town. Steven Michael Quezada, best known as an actor in AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” is running unopposed in the new District 5, which includes the area near West Mesa High School.

On the east side of town, incumbents Paula Maes and David Robbins are running against each other due to redistricting, and also face challengers Don Duran and Angela Gonzales Carver. Those four candidates are running in District 6, which includes the East Mountains and parts of the Northeast Heights. The district includes Sandia, Manzano and Eldorado high schools.

Also up for grabs in a three-way race is District 3, which mostly encompasses the North Valley, but also extends south as far as Albuquerque High. In that district, incumbent Lorenzo Garcia faces challengers Leah Persons and Candido Arturo Archuleta Jr.

There is also a contested race for District 7, which covers the far Northeast Heights and the La Cueva High School area, and extends to the southwest as far as Del Norte High. In that race, incumbent David Peercy faces challenger Larry Langley.

Five seats on the CNM governing board are also up for grabs, two of which are contested. The contested districts are District 1, in the northwest corner of the city, and District 2, which is bounded to the west and east by San Mateo and Tramway, and to the north and south by Montgomery and Central.

Three candidates are vying for the District 1 seat: Dan Serrano, Marjorie Germain, and Pauline Garcia. The race for District 2 is between Ernest Sturdevant and Robert Matteucci, Jr.

Staff writer Elaine D. Briseño contributed to this report.

APS/CNM Voting Locations

APS City Centre 6400 Uptown NE, Room 100 West

CNM 1401 Basehart SE, Portable No. 1

Coors Plaza 3200 Coors NW, Suite G

A. Montoya Elementary School 24 Public School Road

Adobe Acres Elementary 1724 Camino del Valle SW

Arroyo Del Oso 6504 Harper NE

Bandelier Elementary School 3309 Pershing SE

Bellhaven Elementary School 8701 Princess Jeanne NE

Chaparral Elementary School 6325 Milne NW

Albuquerque High School 800 Odelia NE

Cibola High School 1510 Ellison NW

Corrales Elementary School 200 Target Road

Del Norte High School 5323 Montgomery NE

Desiderio Community Center Navajo Route 56 DC Complex

Double Eagle Elementary 8901 Lowell NE

Duranes Elementary School 2436 Zickert NW

Eisenhower Middle School 11001 Camero NE

Eldorado High School 11300 MontgomeryNE

Garfield Middle School 3501 6th NW

Hayes Middle School 1100 Texas NE

Highland High School 4700 Coal SE

Hoover Middle School 12015 Tivoli NE

Hubert Humphrey Elementary 9801 Academy Hills NE

Isleta Recreation Center Building 60 Tribal Road 40

Jackson Middle School 10600 Indian School NE

Jefferson Middle School 712 Girard NE

Kennedy Middle School 721 Tomasita NE

La Cueva High School 7801 Wilshire NE

LBJ Middle School 6811 Taylor Ranch NW

Madison Middle School 3501 Moon NE

Manzano High School 12200 Lomas NE

Manzano Mesa Elementary 1801 Elizabeth SE

McKinley Middle School 4500 Comanche NE

Montezuma Elementary School 3100 Indian SchoolNE

Oñate Elementary School 12415 Brentwood Hills NE

Polk Middle School 2220 Raymac SW

Rio Grande High School 2300 Arenal Road SW

Rudolfo Anaya Elementary 2800 Vermejo Park Dr SW

Sandia High School 7801 Candelaria Rd NE

Susie Rayos Marmon 1800 72nd St. NW

Taylor Middle School 8200 Guadalupe Tr NW

Truman 9400 Benavides Rd SW

Valle Vista 17000 Mae Ave SW

Valley High 1505 Candelaria Rd NW

Van Buren Middle School 700 Louisiana Blvd SE

Ventana Ranch Elementary 6801 Ventana Village Rd NW

Vista Grande Community Center 15 La Madera Road

Volcano Vista High School 8100 Rainbow Blvd NW Washington Middle School 1101 Park Ave SW

West Mesa High School 6701 Fortuna Rd NW Zia Elementary 440 Jefferson St NE

RIO RANCHO — CNM VOTING LOCATIONS

Rio Rancho City Hall 3200 Civic Center Circle NE

Meadowlark Senior Center 4330 Meadowlark SE, Room 4

Mountain View Middle School 4101 Montreal Loop NE

Puesta Del Sol Elementary 450 Southern, Rio Rancho Soul Rio Community Church 2003 Southern Blvd, Suite 132

RIO RANCHO PUBLIC SCHOOLS VOTING LOCATIONS

Cielo Azul Elementary School 1550 34th Ave.

Enchanted Hills Elementary 5400 Obregon Road

Maggie M. Cordova Elementary 500 Veranda Road Mountain View Middle School 4101 Montreal Loop

— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal