HOUSE MEMORIAL 85

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

David E. Adkins and Christine Trujillo

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT TO MEET AT LEAST QUARTERLY WITH DISTRICT LEGISLATORS AND OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIALS.

     WHEREAS, the Albuquerque public school district is the largest school district in the state and the thirty-first largest in the country; and

     WHEREAS, at least twenty-five percent of state public school funding goes to the Albuquerque public school district; and

     WHEREAS, community engagement and accountability are more difficult to achieve the larger a school district becomes, and research shows that community engagement and accountability are vital components of successful schools and students; and

     WHEREAS, over the last two decades, there have been several calls by legislators and others to redistrict the Albuquerque public school district into two or more smaller districts, believing that smaller districts would be more responsive to the communities and the needs of the students they serve; and

     WHEREAS, there is a significant disconnect among public education policymakers within the school district, with local legislators and other public officials often left in the dark about policies that affect their constituents; and

     WHEREAS, both the school board and the legislature recognize that much more can be done to improve communications and relations among local and state policymakers, particularly among those policymakers who represent the same constituents as the school board;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Albuquerque school board, the local superintendent and local legislators and other public officials in the school district be requested to meet at least quarterly to discuss issues facing the school district and strides the district has made in improving graduation rates; truancy and drop-out rates; test scores, particularly third-grade reading scores; progress toward closing the achievement gap between students of different races and incomes; improvements in other markers of sustained academic growth of its students; efforts made to improve community engagement and relations; and gains made in improving school personnel job satisfaction and morale; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these quarterly meetings be held in different areas of the school district and that the specific concerns of the area's local legislator, city councilor or county commissioner, as applicable, be addressed; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the Albuquerque public school district board of education, the local superintendent, legislators whose districts are located wholly or partially within the Albuquerque public school district boundaries, city councilors and county commissioners and the secretary of public education.

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