Overview
The superintendent is the face of the school district. When it is successful, they earn accolades, but they also take responsibility for its challenges and failures.
A superintendent is the CEO of a public school district. As Chief Executive Officer, the superintendent is responsible for implementing policies, creating programs, managing resources and spending, and building relationships among the Board of Education, administration, schools, students, families, and the community.
The Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent reports to a seven-member, elected Board of Education.
Academic Progress & Achievement
Of course, the primary focus of a superintendent’s job is student academic progress and achievement – no small responsibility, especially for the superintendent of a large urban-suburban-rural school district like Albuquerque Public Schools, which stretches across 1,200 square miles.
APS is the state’s largest school district and among the 35 largest in the nation, serving 81,000 students at 142 schools. The next largest school district in New Mexico has fewer than a third of the number of students in APS.
APS Student Demographics
- APS is a majority-minority district:
- 66% Hispanic
- 21% White
- 5% Native American
- 3% Black
- 2% Asian
- 68% of students qualify for free/reduced-price meals
- 17% are English learners
- 19% qualify for special education
Source: SAPR Hub APS Dashboard
Economic Impact
With its $1.4 billion budget, APS has a large economic impact on the city of Albuquerque. The school district employs about 12,000 people, including 5,200 teachers.
Goals & Priorities
To ensure that the district remains focused on its primary mission of student academic progress and achievement, Albuquerque Public Schools has an Academic Master Plan outlining five goals and priorities for student success (nicknamed the Supt’s Big 5):
- Early Learning
- College & Career Readiness
- Attendance
- The Whole Child
- Parent and Community Engagement
APS Superintendent History
APS has had 28 superintendents (a few served as interim superintendents) in its 129-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
- Charles Elkanah Hodgin: 1891–1897
- J. T. Perigo: 1897–1898
- Mayo E. Hickey: 1898–1902
- A.B. Stroup: 1902–1905
- James Elton Clark: 1905–1906
- W.D. Sterling: 1907–1911
- John Milne: 1911–1956
- Charles Spain: 1956–1965
- Noah C. Turpen: 1965–1966
- Robert L. Chisholm: 1966–1969
- Tom Wiley: 1969–1971
- Ernest Stapleton: 1971–1977
- Francisco D. Sanchez: 1977–1978
- Joseph P. Robitaille: 1978–1980
- Francisco D. Sanchez: 1980–1985
- Lillian C. Barna: 1985–1988
- Jack Bobroff: 1988–1994
- Dr. Peter P. Horoschak: 1994–1998
- George Bello: 1998
- Dr. H. Bradford Allison: 1998–2002
- Joe Vigil, Beth Everitt, Tom Garrity, Michael Vigil: 2002–2003
- Joe Vigil: April–July 2003
- M. Elizabeth Everitt: 2003–2007
- Linda Sink, Interim Superintendent: January–July 2008
- Winston Brooks: 2008–2014
- Dr. Brad Winter, Interim Superintendent: 2014–2015
- Dr. Luis Valentino: June–August 2015
- Raquel Reedy: 2015–June 2020
- Scott Elder, Interim Superintendent: July 2020–present
Superintendent Salary Comparisons
Large Urban School Districts
A few years ago, the Council of the Great City Schools, an organization of the nation’s 76 largest urban school systems, compared superintendent salaries. It found that the average annual salary for superintendents of large public school districts was $277,765, in line with the APS superintendent, who made $266,316 at the time.
According to the Council, the average annual salary for superintendents with five years or more experience now is expected to be around $345,000. For example, the salary for the superintendent of Baltimore City Public Schools, with a student population of 84,700, was recently raised to $325,000 a year.
APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy, who is in her fifth year on the job, makes $276,186 a year. APS now has about 81,000 students.
HR Comparison
Last year, the APS Human Resources Department did its own salary comparison, looking at superintendent salaries for a dozen school districts in the state and region with student populations ranging from 12,500 to 92,800. The average annual salary for these superintendents was $255,879.
- Superintendents in three of the four largest school districts (Fort Worth, Austin and Fulton County, Georgia) made over $300,000 a year.
- In New Mexico, the superintendent of the second-largest school district — Las Cruces with 24,300 students (less than a third of the APS population) — made $180,000 a year.
- The superintendent of the third-largest school district in New Mexico — Rio Rancho with 16,762 students (about a fifth the size of APS) — made $225,000 a year.
- The superintendent of the state’s fourth-largest school district — Santa Fe with 12,500 students (less than a sixth the size of APS) — made $184,500 a year.
Additional Comparisons
School District | Student Population | Superintendent Salary |
---|---|---|
Santa Fe | 12,500 | $184,500 |
Rio Rancho | 16,762 | $225,000 |
Las Cruces | 24,300 | $180,000 |
Grossmont Union (California) | 28,000 | $255,184 |
Tucson | 47,255 | $270,000 |
Sweetwater (Texas) | 48,000 | $254,784 |
Alpine (Utah) | 75,000 | $178,938 |
Albuquerque | 84,000 | $276,187 |
Austin | 84,000 | $310,958 |
Fort Worth | 86,000 | $330,000 |
Jefferson County (Colorado) | 86,000 | $276,000 |
Fulton County (Georgia) | 92,800 | $329,000 |
Superintendent | Years as a Superintendent | Salary |
---|---|---|
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 |