Commentary: Last night, the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) Board of Education voted to keep Albuquerque schools closed for the remainder of the school year. The vote was 6-1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Board Member, Peggy Muller-Aragon, who voiced her concerns with prioritizing the teachers’ union over students’ best interests.
“Albuquerque has again failed our students,” said senator Mark Moores (District 21-Bernalillo), who represents Northeast Albuquerque. “Our state is already last in education in the country, yet those who we have empowered to do something about it continue to choose to keep our students locked out. The board members who voted to ignore the CDC’s recommendations and the cries of their constituents should be ashamed of themselves. It takes courage to do the right thing and I would like to personally thank Mrs. Muller-Aragon for standing with Albuquerque students and voting with the science.”
“We are now in a position where students have become an afterthought in our education system,” said Senator Craig Brandt (District 40-Sandoval), a former Rio Rancho School Board member. “APS and New Mexico’s education system are suffocating under the weight of their own bloated bureaucracy. To the six members who voted to keep schools closed – you have betrayed our students and relinquished your responsibility to put their best interests in mind.”