20-03-2025
APS Board of Education defends change in media policy amid criticism
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A change to the Albuquerque Public School Board of Education's governance manual is drawing scrutiny with some claiming it limits transparency. But the APS board president said it was all a misunderstanding.
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In a February board meeting, the board made changes to its governance manual, which included a tweak to how it handles the press. 'Essentially the APS school board said that the president of the board will act as the sole spokesperson on behalf of the board,' said Danielle Gonzales, president of the APS school board.
The manual states, 'board members will support the legitimacy and authority of the final determination of the board on any matter regardless of the member's personal position on the issue.'
In the February meeting, the board president said the policy aligns with guidance from the Council of Great City Schools, which also said board members speaking to the media will be interpreted as speaking on behalf of the board even if the member says it is their personal opinion.
Gonzales maintains no one is being silenced. 'There's nothing within the policy that limits the board member's or any individual in the public's freedom to speak to the media,' said Gonzales.
She said the goal is to limit misinformation and to present a united front to the public. 'The main goal is to maintain our unity to the public and to be really clear that when the board acts, we act as a seven-member board that represents the entire community, not a group of individuals who are representing our own opinions or our own perspectives,' said Gonzales.
Still, the new language in the manual is getting scrutiny. 'It's basically saying once the school board has voted on something, every school board member has to fall in line behind that vote even if they voted against it, even if they don't agree with it,' said Christine Barber, executive director of New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. 'That is very anti-transparency. It's also against the First Amendment and free speech.'
She said NMFOG got several calls alerting them to the policy change after the board meeting. 'On top of that, the school board members are elected officials. They were elected specifically by the public to represent the interest of the public on the school board,' she said.
The ACLU of New Mexico also said it is monitoring the media policy.
'We are concerned that APS's speech policy unconstitutionally limits school board members from discussing board decisions. While board members must respect the democratic process, they also have a fundamental First Amendment right and duty to explain their votes and engage in public discussion about policies that impact the community.
Courts have routinely held that while casting a vote is a governmental act, discussing policies and expressing opinions is protected speech. Silencing board members threatens transparency and accountability,' said Leon Howard, ACLU of New Mexico Interim Executive Director.
'It was our practice prior to this vote and prior to this governance manual, and so I'm sorry there's been some misinterpretation of either the intent or the impact of the policy, but it was really meant to be a minor tweak to our governance manual,' said Gonzales.
The next APS school board meeting is scheduled for April 2, 2025, at 5 p.m.
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