APS badly overreached on effort to raise capital funds

Schools need to be improved, but arguments for even higher taxes were poorly presented

When I was a young and foolish boy, I once jumped off the side of an arroyo and landed flat on my chest; I realized very quickly that I would not always land on my feet. The wind was knocked out of me to the point that I had trouble catching my breath. The wind has been knocked out of Albuquerque Public Schools with a thumbs-down vote on all three ballot questions for funding capital projects.

I personally voted for all three requests to fund APS. I’m a 29-year veteran of teaching in APS and have two children who were well-educated (K-12) by APS. My wife is also an APS teacher. I’m deeply convinced that public education is the food that feeds and grows a hungry nation.

It is quite disheartening that Question 1, the Capital Improvements Act, failed; it was the only question that would not have raised taxes — just continued the current rate. I suspect it was found guilty by association. Had it not been in such questionable company, I think that the majority of voters might have been inclined to vote in its favor.

The decision by Superintendent Raquel Reedy and the school board to ask for a tax increase was highly questionable. Looking at my property tax records, it’s clear that there is a 3 percent automatic increase in the taxes I pay each year. In the last 8 years, my taxes have increased by about $600. That 3 percent a year compounds and adds up quickly so that from 2010 to 2018 my property taxes have increased 28 percent.

In the current economy, asking people — even people who strongly support public education — to contribute even more to APS was ill-timed. I know of a number of teachers who voted against the tax increases. I certainly understand that. While teachers are in the best position to understand the need for capital improvements, they also have to balance a decade of minimal salary increases and the ever-growing burden of health insurance premiums.

Did Reedy and her executive team commission a survey of likely voters to see if they were willing to support a tax increase before floating this burdensome request? I would hope that they did; indeed, they could have just asked their employees. The answer was out there blowing in the wind.

APS has also poorly communicated with the public about its capital projects. Each time I drive by the new teacher training center on Comanche, I wonder why there has not been a big sign from Day One thanking Albuquerque for its support of APS. There should also have been a large billboard breaking down the costs and explaining how the building will benefit the 84,000 kids in APS. In fact, every APS building project should be this transparent.

There is no question in my mind the funds requested by APS are needed. My wife works in a 60-year-old school, and her classroom has a never-ending list of work orders to repair and replace things. She often goes without heat in the winter and cooling in the spring. The water that comes out of the drinking fountain in her room is brown until it runs for a minute or two. This is not the environment for her students, and it’s certainly not the way to attract and keep teachers.

Just as I climbed out of the arroyo with tears in my eyes years ago, APS needs to metaphorically do the same thing. Based on the trifecta of negative votes, APS should publicly admit its errors and find a way forward that will address its very real capital needs.