News from the Superintendent: January 5, 2010

January 15, 2010

Good morning.

Happy New Year and welcome back!

I hope everyone got to spend fun, quality time with family over the last couple of weeks. You all deserve it after a hectic first semester. I also hope you are well rested because we’ve got a very busy month of January in front of us.

The APS School Improvements Election is now less than a month away, on Feb. 2. Early voting runs from Jan. 8-29 at four locations, including here at the APS Building. If you have training or another meeting scheduled at City Centre, be sure to come by a few minutes early so you have time to vote. More information is available at http://www.yfocf.org/.

Keep an eye on the calendar on that Web site for information on election presentations, community forums and new building celebrations at local schools. I will be leading community conversations at Del Norte High School on Jan. 14 and Cibola High School on Jan. 28. Both begin at 6:30 p.m.

The 30-day Legislative Session begins two weeks from today in Santa Fe, and I don’t need to tell you how challenging it will be for legislators to sort out New Mexico’s budget woes. Education obviously will be a huge topic of discussion and other school districts around the state look to us to help lead the charge.

In the coming weeks you will hear many ideas for budget solutions offered by legislators and reported in the media. The numbers and scenarios are constantly changing. Please remember that nothing is final until the legislature formally votes on it. We will be monitoring the changes closely, and working extensively with our local legislators to provide information and suggest solutions to achieve the best possible outcome for public education.

The district also is hoping to work out a new uniform middle schools schedule by the end of the month. We’re trying to get everyone on the same page, in the same way the high schools are now. The new schedule will go into effect next fall.

The APS Special Education Department is inviting the public to any of five meetings this week and next on their “listening tour,” asking for input on what is or isn’t going well in their schools’ programs. Dates and locations are available at their web site.

Congratulations to Atrisco Heritage Academy students and staff, who are expanding into their new cafeteria, library, gym and special education wing this week. I know they are looking forward to their new facilities.

So, let’s get started. Have a great week.

Winston Brooks
Superintendent