ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –- Parents are upset about Albuquerque Public School’s proposal to close Taft Middle School in the North Valley. They’re also upset with how and when they found out about the news. “Shocked. I was shocked. I was sad, I’m going to get emotional. That means my daughter is the last 8th grade class for that school and then Taft is just going to be a memory,” said Ambra Perez, who has two kids at Taft Middle School.
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The proposal would close Taft Middle School and send kids two miles away to Taylor Middle School. Taylor Middle would also get a multi-million dollar renovation. The Coronado Dual Language Magnet Elementary School would then move into Taft’s empty building. “I’m going to have to move my work. I have to work close to their school because I pick them up,” said Perez.
It’s at least the third school in the North Valley to close in recent years following La Luz and Duranes elementary schools.
“I understand the feelings that people have when a school is being consolidated,” said Dr. Gabriella Blakey, Superintendent of APS. She said the consolidations are part of a larger plan to adjust to declining enrollment. The district said it’s lost 15,000 students since 2016. The district has been looking at “right-sizing” since 2016. “How we make sure that our footprint of buildings matches the number of students we have and make sure we have both financial stability and we have robust academics in the school,” she said.
A committee dedicated to right-sizing the district put Taft Middle School on its list to consolidate in 2022 but parents said they feel blindsided. “What they’re doing with elementary, middle, and high school families is part of the reason their enrollment is declining,” said Amy Ziegler, PTA president of Alvarado Elementary School, which normally feeds into Taft.
The Alvarado PTA recently learned of the proposal and rallied parents to show up to a school board meeting on Wednesday. During public comment, parents urged the school board to at least delay an upcoming vote to greenlight the project on December 18. “They need to rethink how they are communicating with the community,” said Ziegler.
It’s something the superintendent acknowledges. “The district might feel, well, everybody knows this has been happening since 2016, but often we forget that if it’s not happening in your school, you might not be familiar,” said Dr. Blakey. “I can see where the elementary families particularly needed more information and I think we can always do better with that.”
The school board is still expected to vote on the boundary changes to align with its right-sizing plan on December 18. Dr. Blakey said the earlier a decision is made, the easier it will be for families to sign up for desired courses at their new schools for the next year. Dr. Blakey said the district is also working on communicating to Alvarado families all of the middle school options their students will have.
However, the Alvarado PTA is still urging people to contact their school board members and make their voices heard at the upcoming meeting. “You don’t have to publicly speak, but show up. You can show you’re support by publicly being there,” said Ziegler.
The December 18 meeting is scheduled to start at 5:05 p.m.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
