School Board presses charter schools on their improvement plans

The short version

1. 1

   The School Board reviewed improvement plans for 10 charter schools and asked how the money is being spent.

   Each school gets state improvement money that flows through Albuquerque Public Schools. Staff said all the schools are on track to meet their short-term goals.

   ▶ Watch at 35:56
2. 2

   The board president raised concerns about attendance, test scores and how the charter money is used.

   She said chronic absenteeism worries her at four schools, including Gilbert L. Sena Charter. She said she would send the schools her other concerns in a letter.

3. 3

   Students at the county jail lost the tablets they used in their dorms because of internet problems.

   Gordon Bernell Charter School's director said the school stopped giving out the tablets because it did not trust its local tech provider to keep students off the open internet. The school is switching providers and expects that done for the second semester.

4. 4

   Seven people spoke during public comment, about rodents at a middle school, child abuse and staff uniforms, among other topics.

   A teacher asked the board to deal with what they called an ongoing infestation of vermin at James Monroe Middle School. Other speakers criticized how school district police handle abuse reports, and argued against teaching about Sharia law.

5. 5

   The superintendent's office said it is listening as the Rightsize sessions with the public begin.

   In remarks read for Superintendent Durán Blakey, the district said the sessions are a starting point and asked people to keep sharing ideas.

What people said

• 7 people spoke in public comment.
• A speaker said school staff were told about abuse of two children before their mother set fire to their apartment. The speaker accused school district police and staff of covering up abuse reports.
• A teacher said James Monroe Middle School has an ongoing vermin infestation and described the health risks from rodents. They asked the board to fix it and to be open with families and staff.
• A speaker for school custodians and maintenance workers said many school leaders, including the administration at Del Norte, don't enforce the uniform rule. The speaker said those workers get a yearly uniform allowance.
• Three speakers argued against Sharia law and Islamic centers. One said they had asked the Second Judicial District Court to stop them from being built.

What’s next

• The school board holds a special work session on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. It is online only, on the board's YouTube channel.
• The next regular meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex. It will also stream at APS.edu.
• The board president said she will send the charter schools a letter with her other concerns.

Everything on the agenda (5 items)

What the record doesn’t say

• This summary was written from a machine transcript of the meeting video and the agenda, before the official minutes were out.
• The transcript records no roll call answer for Board Member Betzen, so it is unclear whether they attended.
• The record does not give the time the meeting ended.
• The record does not say whether the district will respond to the rodent complaint at James Monroe Middle School or to the abuse claims.
• The record does not give dates or places for the Rightsize listening sessions.
• The record does not say what happens to a charter school that misses its improvement targets.

Written by AI from the official record and checked by code against it: every dollar figure, vote, number, date and member’s name must appear in the record’s own words, or the summary is held. Not reviewed by a person. Residents are not named. How these are made · All Albuquerque meetings