News from the Superintendent: January 26, 2009

January 25, 2009

Dear APS Community Member,

I hope you had a good week getting into a fitness routine. If you haven’t joined the Start! Fitness Challenge yet, there is still plenty of time. We had a great turnout at the kick-off event last week, and it doesn’t hurt any of us to get some exercise. We couldn’t ask for better weather for hiking, biking or just walking around the neighborhood. This is the kind of weather that made me want to move to New Mexico!

The legislative session is in full swing, and as you read this, I’m probably sitting in front of the New Mexico House Education Committee talking about employee insurance benefits. Not to give you a horrible jolt on a Monday morning, but when exploring ways to cut the state’s budget deficit, it has been suggested that state agencies fund their own benefits.

What this means is that—potentially—APS would have to cover the cost of employee benefits without state aid and/or pass costs along to employees. In our current set-up, the Legislature allocates some funds in order to help keep the district’s costs down. A change in that allocation would mean changes for us.

Please note that nothing has been decided; it has only been discussed. Lots of things will be discussed over the next two months before action is taken by the Legislature. That’s part of the reason I’m addressing the committee. We’ll plead our case, hope for the best and move on. The good news is that the governor supports updating the funding formula, investing in pre-kindergarten and keeping budget cutting away from classrooms.

As we continue to focus on the vision for Rio Grande High School and Ernie Pyle Middle School, we hope to have new details to share soon. I expect new principals to be named sooner rather than later, and they will be a big part of the plan that is drawn up.

There will be a parent and community meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at RGHS to discuss it further. There hasn’t been a more concrete plan announced because the community will be a key part of the discussion. While Chief Academic Officer Linda Sink and I are working on an outline and will make suggestions, your feedback will help determine the direction of the schools. We want to take final steps only after we understand—clearly—the needs of both communities.

The meeting will be run in a format similar to the Celebrate the 8 Goals series held in the fall that include time for discussion and feedback. Please join us Thursday for what I hope will be just the beginning of a creative and constructive dialogue. I look forward to seeing you there.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Winston Brooks, Superintendent
Albuquerque Public Schools