Meet the APS Board Candidates

Candidate forum set for Sept. 10.

Voters wanting to know more about the nine candidates vying for four spots on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education will have an opportunity to meet them during a candidate forum next week.

The forum will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, 6400 Uptown Boulevard NE. It is open to the public.

The candidate forum will be livestreamed and posted to the APS Board of Education YouTube Channel.

You are invited to send questions for the candidates to boarded@aps.edu. The deadline to submit those questions is 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5.

All nine candidates will answer the same questions. Because there will only be enough time for about 10 questions, similar questions will be combined to allow for the greatest variety of questions.

Election Day is Nov. 4.

The four board positions on the ballot this year are in Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7.

District 3 encompasses Del Norte, Valley and Albuquerque High and their feeder elementary and middle schools. The district is currently represented by Board President Danielle Gonzales, who is seeking reelection. She is running against Isaac Alexander Flores and Rebecca Marie Betzen.

District 5 covers West Mesa High School and its feeder elementary and middle schools. Joshua S. Martinez and Brian Kevin Laurent Jr. are vying for the board position currently held by Crystal Tapia-Romero, who isn’t seeking reelection.

District 6 includes Manzano and Sandia high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools. Two candidates are running in that district: David Adam Ams and Margaret S. Warigia Bowman. Josefina Dominguez, who currently holds the seat, isn’t seeking reelection.

District 7 covers La Cueva and Eldorado high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools. Board Vice President Courtney Jackson is running against Kristin Renee Wood-Hegner in that district.

Early voting begins on Oct. 7. Successful candidates begin their four-year terms on Jan. 1.

Voters and candidates can find their district and learn about voter registration, polling locations, the candidates, and more at the Board of Education election web page.

GO Bond

An APS General Obligation Bond question will also appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. If approved, the GO Bond would generate $350 million for a host of projects. 

Those projects include: converting 20 schools from evaporative coolers to refrigerated air and construction projects at 13 schools. The funding would also pay for a new career technical educational student training facility, a Taylor Middle School classroom block and a west side student special needs education facility.

Approval of the bond would not increase the current tax rate.