Board Meeting Dates

Additional Details

Special Board of Education Meeting

AGENDA

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

7:30 AM

DeLayo-Martin Community Room, Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Minutes of Special Board of Education Meeting

Albuquerque Public Schools

A Special Board of Education meeting of Albuquerque Public Schools was held Tuesday, October 22, 2013, beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the DeLayo Martin Community Room, Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE.

I.      Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:32 a.m.

A.     Roll Call

Present: Dr. Analee Maestas, Kathy Korte, Lorenzo Garcia, Martin Esquivel, Steven Michael Quezada, Dr. Don Duran, Dr. David Peercy (by phone)

B.     Adoption of the October 22, 2013, Special Meeting Agenda and Approval of the October 16, 2013, Board of Education Meeting Minutes (Discussion/Action)

Dr. Duran motioned for adoption of the agenda and approval of the minutes.  Mr. Quezada seconded the motion. Board members unanimously adopted the October 22, 2013, Special Board of Education meeting agenda and approved the October 16, 2013, Board of Education meeting minutes.

II.     Special Issues

A.     Sustainability Study (Discussion)

Don Moya, chief financial officer, and Ruben Hendrickson, deputy chief financial officer, explained that this information is a continuation of the report that was given on September 27.

Review of issues affecting the district fiscally including:

• APS has 1000 fewer students due in part to the growth of charter schools.
• New schools have been built over the past decade, yet some schools are over-enrolled and some under-enrolled.
• Even though state legislators increased funding for public education this year, money is earmarked for special programs and projects and doesn’t go directly to the classroom.
• New Mexico school districts haven’t received a cost-of-living increase in years despite bigger bills for utilities, insurance, teachers moving from one pay level to the next, etc.
• Budget solutions have often impacted employees (furloughs and shorter contracts for teachers), which is having a negative impact on morale.
• APS needs to rethink how business is done with a long-term, sustainable plan reflecting our new economic realities.

Other information covered included:

• Areas of Opportunity include resource management, align services to reflect funding formula, realign and repurpose APS facility assets and increase student enrollment.
• Review of presentations scheduled for board members culminating in a request for recommendations from board members
• Comparison of grants received at school districts statewide
• Impact of prior funding cuts on staffing over the past five years
• Funding formula computation, which includes two major factors of funding and staffing special education
• Requirements and cost of high needs students and related services
• Staffing and services needed for preschoolers

Board members shared the following comments:

• Solutions will come with more funding
• Even with all the alternatives available, more funding is needed
• Recommend reviewing more available funding in the K-3 program and the Medicaid programs
• Importance of the availability schools of choice for students
• Importance of obtaining recurring grants
• Difficulty in addressing adjustment of the funding formula due to the diverse sizes of districts in New Mexico
• Concern for students who are borderline and need additional services to achieve academically, but don’t qualify for the specialized funding
• APS partnership with charter schools to the benefit of both entities
• Comparison of per-pupil spending with other states can be misleading because of variables
• Concern about the validity and appropriateness of rankings

III.    Superintendent Report

Superintendent Brooks reported on the following:

• Community meetings continue to draw many teachers and parents, who are sharing and learning about the facts
• Gratitude for the support of board members at the community meetings
• Concerned that the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) is changing the facts and factors of the teachers evaluations and student tests frequently
• Gratitude for Carrie Robin Menapace and Shelly Green for their work presenting at the teacher and community meetings and for ensuring that the website and presentations contained the most current NMPED information.

IV.    Board Reports

Board members had no further reports.

V.     Announcement of Upcoming Board Meetings

President Esquivel announced that the next Board of Education meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., in the John Milne Community Board Room and the next Special Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., in the DeLayo Martin Community Room.

VI.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned 8:51 a.m.

APPROVED: ____________________________

Martin Esquivel, President

ATTEST: __________________________________

Steven Michael Quezada, Secretary