Come Meet Our Superintendent Finalists

Three public forums set for Tuesday.

The two educators vying to be the next leader of Albuquerque Public Schools will take part in a series of public forums on Tuesday.

Thomas Ahart, the former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, and Gabriella Durán Blakey, chief operations officer of APS, will discuss their plans for improving the district and answer pre-submitted questions during the three forums at the Berna Facio Professional Development Complex, 3315 Louisiana Blvd. NE:

• 9 a.m. – noon: Public Town Hall featuring a student panel and pre-submitted questions for the superintendent finalists
• 5-5:45 p.m.: APS Employee Forum where finalists will be asked questions pre-submitted by teachers and staff
• 6-8 p.m.: General Public Forum where finalists will introduce themselves and answer pre-submitted questions

Once you have heard from the finalists, you will have an opportunity to provide feedback for the board. A QR code will be provided at all events and a link will be available on the APS website on Tuesday that will take you to a feedback form. 

The three forums will be livestreamed on the APS Board of Education YouTube Channel. Livestreamed events will be closed captioned through YouTube. Spanish and Sign Language interpretation will be provided. If you need another language, please email boarded@aps.edu

Twenty-four people applied to be the district’s next superintendent. The board selected three finalists, but one of the finalists withdrew his name.

The board is planning a final round of interviews with Ahart and Blakey on Wednesday and is expected to pick the next leader of APS that same day.

The person selected will replace Superintendent Scott Elder, who will be leaving APS when his contract expires on June 30.