APS Board moves into executive session to discuss litigation with Albuquerque Journal

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education moved into an executive session to discuss pending litigation related to the Albuquerque Journal, a staff member announced during the meeting.

"The APS Board of Education met in executive session as authorized by the Public Meetings Act sections 10-15-1 H7 for the purpose of discussing pending litigation in relation to Albuquerque Journal versus APS," the staff member said, adding that the matters discussed were limited to those specified.

The announcement, read aloud as the meeting proceeded, invoked Section 10-15-1(H)(7) of the Public Meetings Act as the legal basis for closing the session. Executive sessions under that provision typically allow a public body to close a meeting to discuss threatened or pending litigation when public discussion would jeopardize the public interest in the matter; the staff member emphasized the discussion would be limited to the litigation specified in the notice.

Prior to the formal announcement the meeting opened with brief, informal remarks and light laughter among participants; one attendee complimented others on their attire and mentioned "Dr. Gonzales" in passing. The public portion of the transcript contains no motions, votes, or further details about the subject matter of the litigation.

The meeting record in the provided transcript ends shortly after the executive-session announcement, and the transcript does not include any substantive public discussion of the litigation itself or any subsequent actions. It is not specified when the executive session concluded or whether the board later took any public action stemming from the closed discussion.

The board did not record a public vote or motion in the available transcript segments. Further public details about the litigation, including filings, legal positions, or next steps, were not provided in the recorded portion of the meeting.