APS committee pulls $1.4M in instructional‑materials contracts from consent for fuller board review

The Albuquerque Public Schools finance committee on June 25 voted to remove from the July 1 consent agenda a pair of one‑year instructional‑materials contract extensions totaling roughly $1.4 million so the full board can review details.

CFO Reanetta Apadaka and instructional staff asked the committee to approve one‑year extensions for contracts with two vendors — listed in the packet at $671,250 and $729,160 — that provide layer‑2 instructional supports (targeted interventions in math and ELA). "These are online products used for layer 2 instruction," Rachel Alabelli, senior director of instructional materials, told the committee.

Staff said the contracts result from a prior RFP and the one‑year extension is requested so the district can align layer‑1 and layer‑2 resources during the next math adoption cycle without interrupting teachers who rely on the tools. "We need to make sure we are aligned with the math adoption cycle," Dr. Ronnie Mullerwine said.

Board members raised cost and classroom-use questions. One member asked whether the software replaces in‑person resource teachers; staff said the products are materials for targeted interventions and that how schools deploy staff remains a local decision. A committee member calculated the lower contract’s per‑student figure and staff confirmed the $671,250 contract covers roughly 35,000 licenses — about $9.75 per student on average.

Given those concerns, the committee agreed to remove the purchase from the consent list so the full board can discuss teacher feedback, use cases and alignment with adoption plans at the July 1 meeting. Staff said removing the item from consent would not interrupt services because the item will be posted and discussed at the next board meeting.