Board member criticizes APS

Muller-Aragón castigates district over now retracted sports cuts

An Albuquerque Public Schools board member is criticizing the district over its retracted threat to drop a middle school sports program as “prioritizing adults over children.”

On Monday, Peggy Muller Aragón, District 2 representative, submitted an op-ed column to the Journal decrying the then-proposed middle school athletics cut, which would have saved about $600,000. She suggests a number of alternatives where APS could find extra money, from cellphones to attorneys fees.

The district announced Wednesday that it would be able to spare middle school sports, but Muller-Aragón said the views expressed in her op-ed remained valid with minimal changes.

“A lot of the systemic problems are still there,” Muller-Aragón said Friday during a Journal interview. “I think they caved to public outrage or they were shamed into reinstating sports. ... It is never a good idea when you are trying to balance a budget and kids are taking second place to adults.”

Muller-Aragón said she is concerned about the amounts APS administrators are being paid, echoing Gov. Susana Martinez and the New Mexico Public Education Department, who pounded the district for more than a week until funding for competitive middle school sports was restored to the budget proposal.

Thirty-five APS employees make more than $100,000 a year — up from 20 in 2011.

“We should be able to somehow cut more from those administrator salaries,” Muller-Aragón said.

Her op-ed, scheduled for publication on Sunday, proposes a number of other reductions APS could make, adding up to about $6 million, including:

Hiring in-house attorneys, rather than contracting with independent firms, saving $500,000.

Discontinuing payments for employee cell phones, saving $350,000.

Consolidating graduations into one weekend, saving on facility charges.

Reinstating a heavier high school schedule, saving $3 million to $3.5 million.

APS spokeswoman Johanna King declined to comment on Muller-Aragón’s statement.

“This is a board member, so we feel like other board members should speak to it,” she said.

Board President Dave Peercy said that Muller-Aragón does not represent the board as a whole and her op-ed is not part of the board’s normal process.

“That (op-ed) is her opinion, and she is allowed to give her opinion,” he said. “I prefer not having that. It makes it appear like we are all against each other and we are not.”

According to Peercy, the board’s position is to “let staff work through the budget,” then vote on the final proposal.

APS is projecting a possible $26 million budget loss for fiscal year 2018, although the numbers will not be set until the Legislature’s special session.

The school board is considering a number of options to balance the budget, including larger class sizes and reduced employee work days.

“All of this is bad — it is bad for us to consider a class size waiver,” Peercy said. “The board understands this. It’s not just about mid-school athletics.”

With the FY18 numbers still not settled, APS administrators have been forced to budget conservatively, Peercy said.

Asked about Muller-Aragón’s cost-savings suggestions, Peercy countered that they don’t even approach the total reduction.

“Cell phones isn’t going to do a diddly thing,” he said. “You are not going to save us $26 million.”

Muller-Aragón said her op-ed was focused on how APS could find $600,000 to save middle school sports.