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Albuquerque Public Schools board meeting, Jan 7, 2026

1 h 28 min

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 28 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Albuquerque school board chooses 2026 president, vice president and secretary 1:06:35

  • New board members took the oath of office, including Rebecca Betzen, Joshua Martinez and Courtney I. Jackson. ~2:35
  • The board chose Rebecca Betzen as vice president and Audit Committee chair and Heather Benavidez as secretary. 44:25
  • For board president, one board member nominated a fellow board member, and another board member made a self-nomination. 1:04:26
  • A speaker said only the Finance and Audit committees exist, and the board chose a Finance Committee chair. 1:12:59

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (9)
  1. Opening and oaths of office 0:17
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a land acknowledgment. 0:17
    • Rebecca Betzen took the oath of office and said public education is a shared commitment. ~2:35
    • Joshua Martinez took the oath and said every decision the board makes has a direct impact on families. ~7:32
  2. Roll call and agenda adoption 31:50
    • Heather Benavidez moved to adopt the January 7th, 2026 meeting agenda, and a roll call vote followed. 32:17
  3. Interest in serving as officers 32:42
    • Janelle Astorga and Heather Benavidez each said they were interested in serving as secretary. 33:17
    • Rebecca Betzen asked for support to serve as vice president, and Joshua Martinez said they would not seek a leadership position. 44:25
    • Courtney I. Jackson sought the president post and outlined a governance plan including a board retreat in January or early February and starting budget development in February. 51:38
  4. Selection of board president 1:04:01
    • One board member nominated a second member for president, and a third member self-nominated. 1:04:26
    • Two board members cast votes for the nominee they had named. ~1:05:12
    • A staff member announced that the board had elected the board member nominated by one board member as president. 1:04:26
  5. Selection of vice president 1:07:02
    • The vice president also serves as Audit Committee chair, the presiding officer said. 1:07:02
    • A staff member said the Audit Committee meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 5 PM virtually, and Rebecca Betzen asked whether 5:30 would work better. 1:08:55
    • The board chose Rebecca Betzen as vice president and Audit Committee chair. 44:25
  6. Selection of board secretary 1:09:39
    • Heather Benavidez made a self-nomination for board secretary, and Janelle Astorga had earlier said they were interested in continuing as board secretary. 33:17
    • The board chose Heather Benavidez as secretary. 1:09:54
  7. Board committees and membership 1:10:57
    • A speaker said only the Finance and Audit committees exist and that any other committee would require public notice at a later meeting. 1:12:59
    • One board member recommended placing other committees on the agenda for the meeting on the 21st. 1:14:38
    • Rebecca Betzen asked to join the Finance Committee, and Courtney I. Jackson offered to sit on the Audit Committee. ~1:22:04
  8. Selection of Finance Committee chair 1:24:17
    • A board member seeking the post cited training in accounting and said the APS budget is $2.2 billion. ~1:15:15
    • The new chair proposed meeting the 4th Thursday of the month at 5:30, and a staff member said the Chief Financial Officer's team would need to confirm. 1:25:56
    • A speaker announced that the board had elected a Finance Committee chair. 1:25:37
  9. Next meeting and adjournment 1:26:59
    • The next meeting was set for Wednesday, January 21st, 2026, at 5 PM, and the meeting was adjourned. 1:27:48

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education Meeting 1-7-2026”