APS Opens Survey on Upcoming Calendars and Budget

The deadline to take the survey is Oct. 29.

Albuquerque Public Schools is seeking the public’s input on two key issues—the school calendar for 2025-26 and 2026-27 and the upcoming school budget—and has developed an online survey for the public to take.

The survey spells out two options for the next two school years’ calendars. Though calendars have often proved controversial in the past, Superintendent Dr. Gabriella Blakey said getting input early in the process may help give district leaders a better sense of what parents, students and the public would like to see.

The survey will open Wednesday, Oct. 9, and close Tuesday, Oct. 29. All responses are anonymous and confidential.

“We want our community to give us input, and two of our most important considerations are our schedule and our budget,” said Dr. Blakey. “We fully understand that not everyone will be happy with everything that is decided on these important topics. But if we get input at the front end, we can make the best and most informed decisions.”

The two calendar options offer different start and end dates for the next two school years. One, Option A, is similar to the 2024-25 school year, with an early August kickoff and a late May conclusion.

Option B offers a start date later in August, with an end date in June. This option, district leaders said, could offer some relief from high heat and humidity readings in early August, which limit the effectiveness of some HVAC systems. Also, many members of the community have expressed concerns about the school year starting earlier in the month.

Option A ends the first semester of the school year in December. In Option B, the first semester would end in January. First-semester finals would be taken in January, after winter break.

Both calendars feature: 

• Thursday of Balloon Fiesta as a virtual learning day for all students except 10th grade. 
• Fall break would include the Friday of Balloon Fiesta and Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day.
• Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences for K-12 would be scheduled on the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. Spring parent-teacher  conferences would be virtual learning days for students. It’s important to note that “snow days” could affect this plan and could limit the number of spring conference days. 
• Two weeks for winter break.
• Spring break alignment with the vernal holiday.

In addition, the survey features questions on the upcoming APS budget in hopes of gauging priorities as the district begins constructing the 2025-26 budget. The Board of Education will hold in-person Listening Tour budget meetings on Oct. 24 and Oct. 28 and is encouraging members of the public to attend and offer ideas.