Top APS official placed on paid leave

One of Albuquerque Public Schools’ top officials, Chief Information and Strategy Officer Richard Bowman, was placed on paid administrative leave this week, a district spokeswoman has confirmed.

Bowman, who’s been with the district since 2016, was put on leave pending an investigation into an allegation. Both he and APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta declined to provide details on why, with the latter doing so on the grounds that it was a “personnel issue.”

“Anytime an allegation is made against an employee … it’s a best practice to put the employee on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation,” Armenta said. “Allegations aren’t necessarily true. That’s why you put an employee on leave — so that the district can do its due diligence and conduct an impartial investigation.”

Bowman declined to comment for this story.

At this point, APS must only acknowledge that it has placed Bowman on leave but isn’t necessarily required to explain why, according to the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.