Wondering What's Wrong with APS?

This is truly amazing to me, 8 School Board Candidates Don't File Financial Disclosures (subscription):

Three of 11 Albuquerque school board candidates filed voluntary financial disclosure forms by the 4 p.m. deadline Monday, with others saying they had forgotten or were busy.

That's right. One candidate, Carolyne DeVore-Parks, running in District 5 actually had the gall to say that she didn't do it because "she had been busy." We're really getting the cream of the crop here.

Shorten Winter and Extend Summer

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription) has a follow up article today on the proposed upcoming APS academic calendar. APS wants to shorten the summer and increase the winter break. Personally, my family would prefer that it be the other way around. A three week winter break is too long.

There was one rationale behind starting earlier in the summer that just struck me as absurd:

Officials said another reason for the early start is that the APS payroll department has set the first pay period from July 30 to Aug. 10. Teachers must work at least three days during that time, or they don't get a paycheck.

I can't believe an official put this out as a reason to change the calendar. Tens of thousands of families lives being altered to because of some bureaucratic nonsense. Tell me this system isn't broken.

Speaking if which, you mighr want to attend tonight's APS Board candidates forum.

The Bloggers Are Coming

It looks like there is a public forum coming up on January 24th for those who would like to be elected to the APS School Board. And guess what? Two of the candidates are bloggers:

Candidates for the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education will participate in a public forum on Jan. 24.

The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters and will give members of the public an opportunity to hear the opinions and views of the candidates.

There are three candidates, Cecilia C De Baca, Dolores Griego and Richard Sanchez, who want to represent District I, the district that encompasses the South Valley of Albuquerque.

In District 2, on Albuquerque's west side, the candidates are Cynthia Jones and incumbent Robert Lucero.

The five candidates from District 4, the Downtown and University area of Albuquerque, are Vanessa Alarid, John Edward, Martin Esquivel, Charles MacQuigg and Pauline Nunez.

The forum will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the APS administrative building located at 6400 Uptown Boulevard NE.

Now that should make for an interesting night.