ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Albuquerque School Board is proposing the closure of a middle school in 2025, and some families say they’ve been kept out of the loop. 

“This community is real tight. Our children, our grand children, our great-grandchildren have gone to Taft,” said Ernie Watson, a grandparent.   

Watson says his grandson could be the first in generations to not attend Taft Middle School in Albuquerque’s North Valley. 

APS sent a letter to families in November, laying out the possibility to close the school next year. But not everyone believes the district has been upfront with its plans. 

“There has been rumors going around that this was going to happen, and it hasn’t been as transparent as the community would have liked,” said Watson. 

That’s left many families upset. They tried to get answers from district officials at Wednesday night’s APS board meeting. 

“I mean, I went to a meeting the day before yesterday that we just knew about the day before yesterday. And then the meeting last night with the school board was last night,” Watson said. 

According to the school district, Taft Middle School has been declining in enrollment for almost a decade. They say, since 2016 the school has lost 15,000 in numbers.

It’s all part of the district’s “right sizing” efforts, which aims at making the best use of facilities as enrollment changes throughout APS. 

The proposal is to merge Taft students to Taylor Middle School. 

If the board approves that move, Taylor would undergo a $28 million renovation. The Taft campus would be upgraded and turned into the Coronado Dual-language Magnet School. 

“I see the problems with that, and it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be difficult,” said Watson. “Then on the 18th of December they’re going to make a decision. People feel slighted.”

According to an APS spokesperson, there are several votes slated for the Dec. 18 board meeting at 5 p.m., but no agenda has been set.