With new board members sworn in last week, the new Albuquerque Public Schools Board is tackling the daunting task of searching for a new superintendent. Whoever the board choses will oversee the largest APS budget in history—$2.16 Billion-larger than the City of Albuquerque’s annual budget of $1.4 Billion.
The board received 24 applications for the position, which is made up of 15 out-of-state educators and nine from New Mexico. Three of them are current APS administrators: the district’s chief operations officer, the chief of schools, and the principal of Highland High School.
The survey
APS gathered community input with an online survey looking at what students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders wanted to see in the next leader of the district. The survey received a staggering 7,700 responses.
The search and survey were conducted by McPherson & Jacobson, who was contracted by the board to the tune of $56,000.
The top responses to the survey showed that the community wants someone who puts the needs of students first. A person with a background in education who promotes safety and security in schools and across the district and a leader who encourages transparency at all levels of district leadership and who takes responsibility for decisions and actions.
The firm produced the Superintendent Search Stakeholder Feedback Report and noted that the top five responses to the question remained unchanged from previous years and are in the same order as in the survey conducted during the superintendent search four years ago.
Dr. Walter Cooper, a facilitator with McPherson & Jacobson, told the board in December, “The time and effort and intentionality that you put into community engagement in this search, quite honestly, is more than I’ve ever seen in any work that I’ve done in this realm.”
One of the newest board members is Heather Benevidez, who serves District 4. She feels that the timing is perfect for the new board to decide who should lead the district.
The superintendent’s contract and its terms are decided by the school board.
The finalists
Whether you were able to submit your response to the survey, there are still more chances for the public to be involved in choosing the final candidates.
There are two scheduled board meetings in January. On January 10 at 10 a.m., the board will whittle the list down to the semi-finalists. On January 16 at 10 a.m. the board will cull the list even further to a list of finalists.
The finalists will appear on January 30, at a public Town Hall featuring a student panel. It’ll run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Berna Facio Professional Development Center on Louisiana Blvd. The board will then meet in executive session on Jan. 31 to interview finalists and is expected to choose a new superintendent.
An APS employee forum will follow the meeting at 5 p.m. with a general public forum at 6 p.m. A spokesperson for APS said the Jan. 31 deadline may be extended due to the importance of choosing the right candidate. Current Superintendent Scott Elder was appointed interim superintendent in 2021. His current contract expires on June 30 after the board decided not to extend it last summer.