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Overview

Wall of Superintendent Portraits. For the full list of names, please go to the page A.P.S. Superintendent History.

The APS superintendent will oversee the implementation of the district's strategic plan which calls for setting clear expectations, providing rigorous instruction, engaging students, and instituting responsive and coordinated systems.

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education seeks a superintendent who will implement solutions to accelerate student achievement, engage families and the community in student success, and continue to address learning challenges exacerbated by the global pandemic.

APS educates approximately 70,000 students in 143 schools supported by 10,000 employees. The Board of Education is looking to hire an accomplished educator with a working knowledge of the opportunities and challenges urban public school districts present. The successful candidate must strongly believe in every student’s innate capabilities and show evidence of success in closing opportunity and achievement gaps.

The candidate must be committed to supporting the goals and guardrails identified by the APS Board of Education and have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to uplift student voices, bring families into decision-making, and support all staff to help realize student success. Finally, the candidate needs to understand that learning is most effective when students feel supported and have access to physical, social-emotional, and behavioral health services.

The Albuquerque Public Schools district is governed by seven board members elected to four-year terms. The board hires, supervises, evaluates, and sets the superintendent’s salary. It also has the authority to develop educational, personnel, managerial, and financial policies for the district and to adopt annual balanced operating and capital budgets. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience working collaboratively and in partnership with elected/appointed school boards and other city/state elected leadership.

Goals and Guardrails

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has shifted how it governs, prioritizing its work to focus on student outcomes. This Student Outcomes Focused Governance framework centers on the vision and values expressed by the APS community to support what we want our students to know and be able to do. During dozens of community meetings and countless individual conversations in the fall of 2022, the community's vision and values became clear - they want schools to focus on literacy, math, post-secondary readiness, and the skills, habits, and mindsets that lead to success. And they expect equity, support, quality instruction, voice, and engagement. The vision and values lead to the adoption in early 2023 of the Albuquerque Public Schools: Goals and Guardrails

Emerging Stronger Strategic Plan

  1. Priority I: Clear Expectations
  2. Priority II: Rigorous Instruction
  3. Priority III: Engaged Students
  4. Priority IX: Responsive and Coordinated Systems

Learn about the Emerging Stronger Strategic Plan

APS at a Glance

With its $2.1 billion budget, APS has a large economic impact on the city of Albuquerque. The school district employs about 11,000 people, including 5,000 teachers. More than 70,000 students are enrolled in APS schools.

  • 69% qualify for free or reduced-price meals
  • 19% speak English as a second language
  • 22% are enrolled in special education classes

View the At a Glance page or the APS Dashboard for more information. 

APS Superintendent History

APS has had 28 superintendents (a few served as interim superintendents) in its 132-year history. Except for John Milne, who served as superintendent for 45 years beginning in 1911, the average tenure of an APS superintendent is just under three years.

Previous Superintendents

  1. Charles Elkanah Hodgin: 1891–1897
  2. J. T. Perigo: 1897–1898
  3. Mayo E. Hickey: 1898–1902
  4. A.B. Stroup: 1902–1905
  5. James Elton Clark: 1905–1906
  6. W.D. Sterling: 1907–1911
  7. John Milne: 1911–1956
  8. Charles Spain: 1956–1965
  9. Noah C. Turpen: 1965–1966
  10. Robert L. Chisholm: 1966–1969
  11. Tom Wiley: 1969–1971
  12. Ernest Stapleton: 1971–1977
  13. Francisco D. Sanchez: 1977–1978
  14. Joseph P. Robitaille: 1978–1980
  15. Francisco D. Sanchez: 1980–1985
  16. Lillian C. Barna: 1985–1988
  17. Jack Bobroff: 1988–1994
  18. Dr. Peter P. Horoschak: 1994–1998
  19. George Bello: 1998
  20. Dr. H. Bradford Allison: 1998–2002
  21. Joe Vigil, Beth Everitt, Tom Garrity, Michael Vigil: 2002–2003
  22. Joe Vigil: April–July 2003
  23. M. Elizabeth Everitt: 2003–2007
  24. Linda Sink, Interim Superintendent: January–July 2008
  25. Winston Brooks: 2008–2014
  26. Dr. Brad Winter, Interim Superintendent: 2014–2015
  27. Dr. Luis Valentino: June–August 2015
  28. Raquel Reedy: 2015–June 2020
  29. Scott Elder: July 2020–present

Superintendent Salary Comparisons

Superintendent Base Salary and Enrollment - 2022-2023
EnrollmentMin SalaryMedian SalaryMax SalaryCount
Fewer than 300 $50,125 $106,000 $240,000 265
300 to 999 $84,000 $125,000 $330,000 772
1,000 to 2,999 $116,000 $150,000 $400,000 735
3,000 to 4,999 $66,000 $180,300 $369,326 290
5,000 to 9,999 $120,819 $200,000 $368,131 214
10,000 to 24,999 $116,000 $225,000 $400,000 117
25,000 to 49,999 $90,000 $258,000 $354,526 28
50,000 to 99,999 $253,000 $300,934 $364,000 8
100,000 or more $103,000 $297,500 $328,000 6
Mean $156,468

Read the 2022-2023 Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study for more information. 

APS Superintendent Salaries Through the Years
SuperintendentYears as a SuperintendentSalary
Lilian Barna 1985–1987 $75,000
Tom Garrity
(one of four co-superintendents)
2002–2003 $105,000
Michael Vigil
(one of four co-superintendents)
2002–2003 $125,000
Joseph Vigil
(one of four co-superintendents)
2002–2003 $125,000
Beth Everitt
(when she was one of four co-superintendents)
2002–2003 $125,000
Beth Everitt
(when she became the sole superintendent)
2003–2008 $150,000–$192,934
Winston Brooks 2008–2014 $256,000–$266,316
Luis Valentino April–August 2015 $240,000
Raquel Reedy

2015 (as acting superintendent)

2016–2020 (as superintendent)

$200,000

$240,000–$276,186

Scott Elder

2020 (as acting superintendent)

20212023 (as superintendent)

$225,000

$241,020