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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Raquel Reedy was appointed Albuquerque Public Schools’ permanent superintendent Wednesday night after a four-hour, closed-door board meeting.

The longtime APS administrator has served as acting superintendent since Aug. 31, when her predecessor, Luis Valentino, resigned in disgrace.

Under the terms of a contract that runs through 2018, Reedy will make $240,000 a year.

Board member Peggy Muller-Aragón cast the lone “no” vote on the resolution to offer Reedy the job, saying the public should have been more involved in the selection process.

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Before the seven-member board went into executive session, Muller-Aragón suggested that Reedy receive a contract extension to keep her on as acting superintendent for the next 10 months – enough time for new board members to take office and make their own decision on the superintendent position.

“I think the superintendent search process should be deliberate, it should be open, it should be considerate of the new board that is going to be coming in next year,” she said.

But other board members clearly felt they had the right person at the helm.

Board member Barbara Petersen praised Reedy for listening to staff and teachers during the recent budgeting process.

The Albuquerque Teachers Federation also stressed her listening skills and commitment to education in an endorsement of her at a board meeting a few months ago.

Reedy – a bilingual Texas native with a Harvard degree – started working for APS in 1976 as a special education teacher for Atrisco Elementary and never left.

On Wednesday, she said she is excited for the future.

“I think one of the things we need to do in APS is to come together as family and trust each other,” she said. “We need that kind of culture.”

The quiet administrator was thrust into the spotlight in August when she took over for Valentino amid controversy. Earlier that month, Valentino’s hand-picked deputy, Jason Martinez, was found to be facing child sex assault and assault charges in Denver – charges that were not picked up sooner because he never submitted to a mandatory criminal background check.

APS was the subject of national media attention and protests from parents and teachers.

The board charged Reedy with getting the district back on track, and teachers and board members have praised her steadiness under pressure.