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Los Ranchos trustees urge APS pause on Taft rightsizing as residents warn of traffic and equity harms
Summary
Albuquerque Public Schools presented a rightsizing plan that could move Coronado to Taft and reshape middle-school assignments; Los Ranchos residents and trustees called for a delay, citing traffic safety, equity and lack of neighborhood notice.
Albuquerque Public Schools officials outlined a district 'rightsizing' plan Monday that would repurpose Taft Middle School as a phased K–8 site if the Board of Education approves transferring Coronado students there. The presentation — given to the Los Ranchos Board of Trustees — emphasized declining district enrollment and the district's data-driven criteria for identifying buildings for consolidation or repurposing.
The plan presented by APS deputy superintendent for operations Gabriel Hockas and deputy superintendent for leadership and learning Antonio Gonzalez noted the district has dropped from roughly 89,000 students in 2012–13 to about 69,000 in 2023–24 and said rightsizing aims to preserve academic offerings and long-term financial stability. "We want to balance closures with identifying needs to repurpose buildings so they remain community assets," Hockas said.
Why it matters: Village residents said the timing and notice have been inadequate and warned the Taft proposal would push more car traffic onto narrow neighborhood streets. Justin Knight, a resident who spoke during public comment, listed three concerns: local school capacity and proximity, traffic congestion from proposed changes and equity implications for families without access to private transportation.
Trustees pressed APS on several points: when Taft was first identified for rightsizing (APS officials said the review matrix began in 2016), how neighbors and parents were notified, and what transportation funding and mitigation APS would commit if the Board vote proceeds. "We recognize this is complex and we want to be creative about transportation solutions," Kizito Wijenji, APS's executive director for capital master planning, told trustees, noting a January 7 meeting was scheduled with village staff to start traffic and implementation discussions.
Trustees emphasized three requests they want included in a mayor-pro-tem letter to the Albuquerque Board of Education: acknowledgement of APS's offer to allow some North Valley students access to Taft, a clear timeline and deliverable date for an APS-funded traffic study, and consideration of community-supplied data about APS revenue and budget priorities. Trustee Benavides said the community needs more time for meaningful input, and Trustee Kiefer said the village needs a clear district partner to address immediate legislative and transportation issues.
APS officials described several mitigation tools they would consider, including "super stop" bus loading points, phased enrollment rollouts (APS projected an initial ~360 students for a phased K–8 at Taft), and transportation funding mechanisms tied to state allocations. APS also noted planned improvements to nearby Taylor Middle School (previously budgeted) that would accommodate combined enrollment changes.
The trustees voted to send a letter to the Albuquerque Board of Education asking for a pause or deferral and to add the three amendments described above. The letter passed on a unanimous roll call. The Board of Education was scheduled to consider the rightsizing plan the next day.
What comes next: APS and village staff will meet to scope traffic and transportation options; trustees asked for a firm deadline for the traffic study so implementation planning does not outpace mitigation. The village also encouraged residents to follow the APS Board meeting and provided contact information for staff to submit questions and data.
