APS looks to fill hundreds of positions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Public Schools is hoping to fill hundreds of positions ahead of the school year.

“Really focusing on the classroom – we have 19 high school positions, 28 elementary school positions, and 27 middle school positions,” said Todd Togerson, the chief of HR and Legal Support Services with APS.

Togerson said the district’s Special Education department currently has the most open positions.

“We still have high needs areas and special education,” Togerson said. “We have 122 positions there. Last year, we had like 276. So we’re doing better. We’re still looking to draw in folks. We do have a special education training program that helps bring second career folks into the field. So if people do have any interest, they can reach out to human resources.”

APS is also in need of more bus drivers, especially on their West Side routes.

“We’re about 40 short,” said John Griego, the transportation manager for APS. “COVID has kind of changed everything for us. I mean, we were short back then, but not as many as we are now. I don’t know, just people just don’t want to go back to work.”

According to the district, some routes didn’t have buses at all last year.

In hopes of drawing in more applicants, APS has set the starting pay for new drivers at $20 an hour. District officials also said, for applicants who have a clean record and can pass a random drug test, it only takes a week to train for the job.

“Hopefully, if we get more drivers in, we can, you know, put more stops,” Griego said. “But we’re trying to do a lot of community stops so we can get as many students to school as possible on a bus.”

APS officials also said they are looking for employees to help install and work on schools’ HVAC systems.