APS says Reedy accepted 11% raise
Questions over superintendent’s pay hike had persisted since mid-July
Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Raquel Reedy has accepted an 11% raise. The district’s communication office confirmed the superintendent’s salary in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. The statement came four days after the Journal published a story highlighting Reedy’s and the district’s silence on the superintendent’s pay.
With the raise, Reedy’s new salary will be $276,186.62 — a nearly $30,000 boost from her previous annual salary of $248,727.14.
The district has said Reedy is afforded the raise
in her contract, and the 11% reflects the average raise the district’s teachers received.
“The superintendent’s salary based on the 2019 legislative appropriation, her contract, and the approval of the teacher’s negotiated agreement by the APS Board of Education will be increased by 11.04% for the 2019-2020 fiscal year,” the emailed APS statement says.
APS spokespeople initially refused to answer questions on Reedy’s salary last week. For instance, APS wouldn’t say whether Reedy had accepted the raise or not, which made it unclear how much the district leader was making.
The superintendent has still not responded directly to questions by the Journal.
Questions have surrounded Reedy’s raise since mid-July when APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta told reporters Reedy got an 11% raise as of July 1, although she noted that the superintendent would donate part of that raise to the APS Education Foundation. But Board of Education President David Peercy told the Journal in July that Reedy’s raise would need to be discussed by the Board of Education — Reedy’s boss and the authority over her contract. He emphasized in a recorded phone interview that an increase in her salary is not automatic and the board would decide the intent of the contract to determine how much of a raise Reedy would get.
In the emailed statement, APS said that the 11% raise will show up on Reedy’s Friday paycheck, adding it will be retroactive to the start of the fiscal year.
“The superintendent’s Sept. 13 paycheck will reflect her new salary, which is effective as of July 1,” the statement said.