Parents and lawmakers press APS board over Council of Great City Schools contract; board opens competitive RFP process

Dozens of parents, teachers and elected officials told the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education on June 4 that the district’s relationship with the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) has reduced transparency and that community voice has been sidelined.

Speakers at the meeting’s public forum urged the board either to terminate the CGCS contract or to open the selection of governance coaches to a public, competitive process. Several speakers said individual board members had been prevented from explaining dissenting votes and that the contract’s provisions were not publicly available.

“Perhaps most egregiously, this current board has never voted on the contract, which has been dictating how it governs,” said Tony Watkins of Family United for Education. Parent Kristen Wood Hegner said a lack of transparency around district decisions “threatens the fragile relationship between families and the school district.” State Sen. Linda Lopez and state Rep. Diane Hockmanby Hill each told the board that the district should use vendors with local expertise and follow open procurement rules.

Why it matters: Commenters tied the CGCS relationship to broader governance changes the board has adopted in recent years — including a student-outcomes focused governance model — and said procurement and communication practices have undermined trust. Several speakers asked that any future governance support be procured openly and that community input inform selection of outside contractors.

Board response and next steps

Board members spent more than an hour discussing next steps. President Gonzales said the board would not proceed with any vendor selection without public process. Board members agreed to add two public agenda items at the next possible meeting cycle: a public evaluation of services provided by the prior governance contractor and a formal revisit/revision of the current student-outcomes focused governance (SOFG) implementation timeline.

The board also set an interim calendar for issuing a new RFP for governance coaching: the board will discuss evaluation criteria and related materials at a July 16 meeting, the administration expects to issue the RFP shortly thereafter, proposals would be requested by August 1, and the earliest possible board vote to approve a vendor would be in mid-September (with final contracting completed no earlier than the September meeting schedule allows). The administration said the existing contract remains in effect through its current term (June 30) unless ended earlier.

Board members made a range of requests for the new RFP. Several members said they want an open competition with itemized deliverables, transparent cost reporting, the ability for the full board and superintendent to own and approve work, and contractual language allowing termination without cause. Member Josefina Dominguez asked for a public evaluation of the prior vendor’s work before the RFP is released; that evaluation will be added to an upcoming agenda.

Split views among board members emerged during the discussion. Some members said coaching is a normal part of governance work and urged an expedited RFP to maintain continuity of support for SOFG implementation. Others said the board needs time to reflect and to ensure procurement and oversight language protect transparency and community trust.

What the board did not do

No vendor was selected and no contract was executed on June 4. The board did not repeal the SOFG model; members said the model and adopted goals remain board policy but that the implementation timeline and vendor relationships are open for public review and revision.

Speakers

- Tony Watkins, Family United for Education (public commenter) - Kristen Wood Hegner, parent (public commenter) - Erin Dimas (public commenter) - Diane Hockmanby Hill, New Mexico State Representative (public commenter) - Ben Roberts, parent (public commenter) - Diane Hockmanby Hill (state rep) - Courtney Jackson, Vice President, Board of Education (board member) - Josefina Dominguez, Board Member - Heather Benavides, Board Member - President Joe Gonzales, Board President - Gabriela Blakey, Superintendent (part of governance team discussions)

Authorities

- policy: "Student-outcomes focused governance" (referenced by board as adopted governance manual elements) - law: New Mexico Open Meetings Act (referenced by multiple speakers and by staff as governing public process)

Discussion vs. decision

- Discussion: public testimony and board members' debate about CGCS, transparency, and procurement. - Direction: board directed staff to schedule two public agenda items (evaluation of prior vendor; revisit/revise SOFG implementation timeline) and to bring proposed RFP evaluation criteria to the July 16 meeting. - Decision: board agreed to issue a public RFP process (timeline discussed) rather than immediately renewing or extending the prior contract without competition.

Clarifying details

- RFP timeline (planned): discuss criteria July 16 → issue RFP mid-July → proposals due August 1 → scoring and references in early August → earliest board action mid-September (tentative) - Existing contract term: remains in effect through June 30 unless terminated earlier.

Proper names

- Albuquerque Public Schools (organization)

Searchable tags

["governance","procurement","Council of Great City Schools","community engagement","RFP","board oversight","Albuquerque"]

Provenance

- topicintro: excerpt of public forum remarks about the CGCS contract and later board discussion (transcript time ~s=289–361 for initial comments; s=7762–7830 for agenda item discussion).