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APS audit committee reviews ethical-advocate whistleblower statistics
Summary
The Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) audit committee received a report April 22 on ethical-advocate (whistleblower) reports covering Dec. 1, 2024–March 31, 2025. Executive director Gene Saavedra said the district logged 75 complaints spanning July 2024–March 2025 and that most reports came from employees, with higher counts at elementary schools.
The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education audit committee on April 22 heard a report on ethical-advocate data covering Dec. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Gene Saavedra, executive director of Student, Parent, and Employee Service Centers, told the committee the district recorded 75 whistleblower complaints for the period discussed and that most of those complaints came from employees.
Saavedra said whistleblower reports are submitted primarily through the district’s ethical-advocate system, which permits anonymous reporting. “When we see reports, I review the reports and then send them to the direct supervisors and an individual 1 level above the chain of command,” Saavedra said, describing the district’s routing for complaints.
The committee was given a breakdown of complaints by category and school level. Saavedra said elementary schools and high schools appeared with the higher numbers in the data set; he also noted the district’s broader communications channel, Let’s Talk, receives a number of concerns handled outside the ethical-advocate system.
Board member Josefina Dominguez asked what new insights the report offered and how the district is documenting trends. Saavedra said the report provides category- and site-level counts and that trend information is available within the packet; he told the committee the total is down from previous years and that much of the difference reflects use of Let’s Talk for nonanonymous concerns.
Dominguez pressed on the higher counts at the elementary level and on a large number of entries listed under the category “other.” Saavedra replied that the “other” label is chosen by the person filing the report and that the intake form does not reclassify the filer’s selected category. He added that supervisors at the school and supervisory levels investigate and develop response plans and that, in some cases depending on the allegation, matters may be investigated outside the district.
Committee members suggested the district examine why more employee-originated reports appear at elementary schools and consider follow-up analysis if patterns recur. The committee did not take formal action on the report.
The audit committee moved next to an unrelated agenda item after the discussion.
