At the start of Wednesday’s Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education meeting, 23 public forum speakers used one minute each to press the board on health education, the district's contract with the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), staffing and safety concerns tied to a substitute provider, and outdoor learning programs.

Ron Muir told the board the district’s January decision to remove ninth-grade health education ignored community input and health professionals’ evidence; he urged the board to bring the course back by eliminating a 0.5 elective that blocks reinstatement. "You ignored the voice of over 2,000 community members with the survey who wanted to keep health education in ninth grade," Muir said.

Multiple speakers expressed concern about APS’s ongoing contract and relationship with the Council of the Great City Schools. Tony Watkins and others asked the board to publish the contract and have a public discussion before renewing funding. Sarah Azibo, speaking for the New Mexico Asian Family Center, said archiving the district's family engagement policy and filtering board emails reduced transparency and created barriers for families who speak languages other than English or Spanish.

Several speakers raised operational and safety concerns. Daniel Tafoya asked the board to terminate the district's contract with a substitute staffing firm, describing uninvestigated incidents and alleging that responsibility was being passed between APS and the vendor. Brandy Ami (Pueblo of Laguna) described an altercation at Albuquerque High, saying her daughter was treated as the offender despite video evidence she said showed the opposite.

Educators and students urged expansion of outdoor learning. Polk Middle School students and teachers described school farms and garden projects as meaningful hands-on learning and asked for more district-level support and funding to scale garden programs, field trips and composting efforts. Alvarado Elementary staff highlighted awards and said outdoor learning supported language development and academic growth.

Other public comments addressed mobile health clinics, concerns about gender-related medical services at school-based clinics, special-education issues including peer grading concerns, and requests for more culturally responsive instruction and local decision-making.

Speakers asked the board to restore direct email access to members, publish the CGCS contract and schedule public discussion before a potential budget vote that would include CGCS funding.