APS funding has increased while enrollment continues to fall, evaluation finds

Albuquerque Public Schools has been steadily losing students for years and currently has 400 more teachers and staff members than it should. Yet student achievement, especially among “low-income students,” has faltered, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s time for school officials to right-size and seize opportunities to improve student performance, analysts for the powerful Legislative Finance Committee said in a sobering review released Wednesday. “Despite more funding, and fewer students, student outcomes in the district remain low and are getting worse,” lead LFC program evaluator Katie Dry told lawmakers. She noted that APS is the state’s largest school district, responsible for educating nearly a quarter of New Mexico students and for a similar percentage of the state’s public education budget.