APS making adjustments to address budget shortfall

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A big drop in enrollment has the state’s largest school district facing a $17.5-million budget shortfall. Now, Albuquerque Public Schools is forced to come up with a plan to make up for that money, and it will include cutting positions.

“We’ve had a consistent loss in enrollment for years, but it’s been something we can manage through attrition,” said Superintendent Scott Elder.

That’s no longer the case for APS, for the past seven years APS enrollment has dropped by about 2,000 students each year, but the pandemic made it even worse. “Due to the pandemic we’ve lost over 55-hundred students and that’s caused this significant shortfall,” Elder said.

The district says the drop in enrollment is caused by a growing number of people leaving New Mexico, and students transferring to private or charter schools. APS isn’t the only district seeing this. Back in December Santa Fe Public Schools was also experiencing a decline in numbers.

With the current funding formula, the district loses money for each student it loses. Superintendent Elder says APS is facing a $17.5-Million budget shortfall. Now, they’re being forced to cut hundreds of positions, potentially placing a number of administrators back into the classroom, next fall.

“We are moving positions, we have to have compliance,” said Elder. “You have a certain number of students, and you have to have a certain number of teachers for those students” Elder explained.

Right now the district is under a hiring freeze while they focus on shifting their current employees around as needed, to avoid any lay offs. In a statement Ellen Bernstein, the Teachers Union President, says she’s working with the district to minimize the moves, and get educators in their new placements by May. Superintendent Elder says that’s the goal.