'We are listening': APS holds session for public to sound off on budget

College and career readiness, increased wellness services and improved security are just a few of the top priorities that should be included in the Albuquerque Public Schools budget next year, members of the public told officials last week.

Their feedback came during the first of two “listening sessions” held by the APS Board of Education and district administrators to help them craft the budget for the 2025-26 school year. The Thursday event was livestreamed on YouTube.

The group said that holding the sessions now, as opposed to the spring, will give the district more time to incorporate the community’s ideas into the budget, which will be formally adopted by the school board at the end of the current school year.

Board member Courtney Jackson, who helped organize the sessions, told attendees inside the Berna Facio Professional Development Complex that the APS budget is “the drivetrain for everything the district does.”

“As representatives of the public, we on the board feel it is our biggest responsibility to make certain that we know what you, our customers, think,” Jackson said, noting the district’s constituents include not just parents but 68,000 students and the taxpayers.

APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey, who noted she has only served in the district’s top position since July 1, also talked about the importance of including the public in budget discussions.

“Here’s our bottom line: Everything we are doing is tied to student outcomes. That starts with our budget, because that drives all we do, each and every day, regardless of the time of year,” Blakey said. “That’s why we are coming to you this evening. We want you to help us in these efforts and your ideas will do just that for us.”

Budget in the billions

The listening session included a panel of officials: Blakey, Jackson, APS board member Janelle Astorga, APS Chief Financial Officer Rennette Apodaca and Melanie Blea, APS executive director of federal and state programs. Each spoke about the various components of the budget.

They said the 2024-25 school year budget is $2.15 billion. Estroga noted that officials would not be able to implement all the community’s budget suggestions due to funding sources “with strings attached” from state and federal governments.

“That being said, there is a pot of money that you do have influence on, as you should, as taxpayers,” she said.

Officials cautioned that money for certain funds, like capital projects, could not be transferred to fund teachers.

Breakout sessions and discussion

Following the budget presentation, the public went into breakout sessions, writing on sticky notes their top priorities, lowest priorities and concerns about the budget. It was a lively discussion with the panel.

Eldorado High School teacher Courtney Lawton said her school does not have a family counselor.

“We have kids who are in crisis,” she said, noting a retired police officer was appointed to run the wellness room. “The wellness room isn’t there for policing students; it’s there for students who are in a mental health crisis.”

Christina Leonard, a resource teacher for APS, also expressed the need to make wellness a priority. She also floated the idea of implementing a program for poor-behaving students to learn how to function in a school setting. Leonard has observed some behavior that has been a true disruption to the classroom.

“I know one staff member who had to go to the ER for a pencil in the eye,” she said to gasps in the audience. “The problem is real and becoming less and less uncommon.”

One woman, who did not identify herself, said her group’s top budget priorities included a curriculum that is “complete” and aligned with APS goals.

“The kids aren’t getting all of the same instruction,” she said.

Other top priorities include safety and wellness, not just in terms of mental health, but nutrition, too, she said.

A concern is HVAC systems.

“In a lot of schools, it’s not great,” she said, wondering if APS could participate in a “going green initiative.”

How did it go?

Before the evening concluded, APS parent Alice Myers told the panel that the listening session was “my favorite interaction” with the district.

“Just to watch you guys listen to everything we’re saying, which is not glowing reviews,” Myers said. “I’m so excited, Dr. Blakey, to see what you’re going to do. I hear you listening and I hear you asking for feedback. That’s new for us.”

Myers’ comments drew applause from the audience. Jackson responded with a chuckle that it was “a good way to wrap up.”

“What we want you to know is we are listening,” she said.

Jackson said in an interview following the listening session that she thought it went well.

“I’m pleased with the discussion that we had,” said Jackson, holding up notes that she made throughout. “I appreciate that we’re doing this earlier in the cycle because we can now truly take what the community is telling us at the front end and apply it as we create the budget.”

Jackson said she agrees the public should hold APS to a high standard.

“The board has asked for input and the superintendent and her team will incorporate that as much as they can. I think they were very clear tonight that there are some things that just cannot be changed,” Jackson said. “But for that percentage that we are able to make a difference on, the community should hold the board and the superintendent to a high standard.”

APS parent Robert Trujillo, a 2023 school board candidate, said he thought the listening session went well.

“I guess we’ll see when the results come out,” Trujillo said. “Was (the feedback) really listened to? Hopefully, something good comes out of it.”

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of Janelle Astorga, a member of the APS school board.