APS and teachers union reach tentative contract agreement

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Following a summer of negotiations, Albuquerque Public Schools and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation have reached a deal.

The 38-page agreement outlines the changes to come.

“Everybody got paid four more days, plus 6%, so everybody got a raise,” said Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation.

One of the biggest changes includes increased stipends for athletic coaches – something APS says hasn’t happened in 25 years.

Bernstein said they have been trying to get stipend increases for choir teachers and other extracurricular teachers for years, and an increase for coaches is a big win.

“We haven’t had the money to do that, APS hasn’t been able to do that until this year,” Bernstein said. “We weren’t able to do it for everybody, but we could get the coaches an increase, so that was a big deal.”

Special Education Department chairs will also get more money too.

The district and the union have also bargained “supervision stipends” for before- and after-school care.

“Making sure that students are safe when they get off the bus or get dropped off at school, someone has to be there to supervise that,” Berstein said. “So, we negotiated a stipend, supervision stipend, so that people will be there and they will be paid so that students are safe before and after school.”

The Albuquerque Teachers Federation will vote on the tentative agreement from July 31 to Aug. 2. The APS Board of Education will vote at its next meeting on Aug. 2.