News from the Superintendent: February 1, 2010

February 9, 2010

Good afternoon,

The APS School Improvements Election is finally here, and the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow if you were unable to take advantage of early voting. Again, voting locations and a sample ballot are available at the Bernalillo County Web site at www.bernco.gov and other information on construction projects can be found at www.yfocf.org.

I want to thank the numerous organizations that publicly endorsed this issue, including the city of Albuquerque and Albuquerque City Council, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Teachers Federation, Association of General Contractors, Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners, Albuquerque Journal and other individuals and groups who lent their support.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry joined me for a news conference last week at Reginald Chavez Elementary to thank our supporters. I think the mayor found the tour of the school informative, and the kids were excited to meet him.

Volunteers from the Bubble Gum Brigade and Albuquerque Interfaith did a fantastic job the past two weeks getting out and knocking on doors to promote the election. They even got a little press over the weekend.

The Board of Education visited the current session of the New Mexico Legislature last week and held a meeting. They voted to support the Hispanic Education Act, and we are committed to doing all we can to help close the achievement gap.

We also had productive discussions with the House and Senate education committees. There is still concern about further rising costs for employees for insurance, but we’ve been making our case about how employees have already been hit by deductions for the pension fund and no raises. We’re asking for funding to cover the increased costs. A final decision has not yet been made by the committees.

Click on the 2010 Legislative Session Update link on the APS website for more information. It’s updated weekly.

The 2010 Employee Fitness Challenge kicked off last week. There are free classes available and it’s a great way to get back in shape after all the holiday eating we’ve done. I encourage you to participate in an exercise program during the next eight weeks. It’s not too late to register at www.startwalkingnow.org as an individual or part of a team from your worksite.

This week is National School Counselor Appreciation Week. School counselors in APS have challenging jobs and I’m glad we take time out to recognize them. Counselors of the year for elementary, middle and high school levels will be named Friday. We have about 240 counselors in the district, and they take tremendous care of our students. When you see them this week, please make sure you take a moment to thank them for all they do.

Have a great week.

Winston Brooks
Superintendent