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SANTA FE — When a group of senators from different parts of Albuquerque and opposite sides of the political aisle got together earlier this session, they discovered they have something in common.

And the unlikely bunch formed a coalition with one main goal: hold Albuquerque Public Schools more accountable.

"We are all hearing the same thing from parents about APS," said Sen. John Ryan, an Albuquerque Republican. "APS not being responsive, APS being too big, APS not building schools fast enough, APS spending more on administration than in the classroom.

"Those kinds of things we're all hearing, and we're going to start to share information with each other about about what the right solutions are."

Hence the package of bills this session has aimed at auditing the school district, splitting it up and changing the way it elects board members.

"The perception in the Legislature is that APS is troubled. I don't know if it's true, but that's certainly the perception," said Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, an Albuquerque Democrat.

APS is opposed to the bills, sponsored by Sens. Ryan, Ortiz y Pino, Albuquerque Republican Mark Boitano and Albuquerque Democrat James Taylor.

School district representatives planned to be at the Capitol today when some of the bills are expected to be considered by the Senate Education Committee.

On the list: Ortiz y Pino's bill to give Albuquerque's mayor the power to appoint three of the seven board members. The other four would be elected from four districts in the city. The board's seven members now are elected by voters. But turnout is minimal, lawmakers say.

Ortiz y Pino said his plan, backed by Mayor Martin Chavez, would draw more interest in the election, in part because anyone could submit names to the mayor for consideration as his appointee. The plan would take effect after Chavez leaves office.

APS spokesman Rigo Chavez said the school district wants the board to remain how it is.

"We're opposed to taking away residents' rights to elect their representatives on the school board," he said.

Boitano also wants to increase participation in the school board elections by tying them to the dates of general elections.

Chavez said the district doesn't have a position on that bill.

Boitano said he's disappointed voter turnout is so low, and that residents aren't happy with the administration.

"It's not just parents, but a lot of the people I talk to. Teachers, principals, community leaders tell me APS is unresponsive, they are inflexible. They don't feel well-served by the administration," said Boitano.

Taylor wants to split up the school district, a goal he has pursued in past sessions. His bill doesn't call for specific boundaries.

"If we break APS up into three, four districts, it will give the people in those boundaries the opportunities to really make a difference in those classrooms. Not that that's not happening now, sporadically, but overall, there's a big disconnect with parents and the monolith of a district," he said.

"That's what I'm trying to get at. Let's find a way to govern that big district for the betterment of the students' education."

A similar bill passed the Legislature once, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Gary Johnson.

Chavez said the district has studied the idea and said it would leave an unequal tax base for capital projects.

"You'd have inequities," he said. "There's no research I know of that shows size impacts a student's performance."

Taylor and Ryan also have measures that would audit the district's spending. Taylor wants to look at how the district spends its money on at-risk youths, and Ryan wants to see how much the school is spending on administration versus the classroom.

Chavez said the district already has annual audits.

"We're confident that if there were any specific audit of where we spend on at-risk students, you'd find we spend more money on the neediest students and the neediest schools," he said.

Overall, Chavez said, APS is willing to work with lawmakers and has made improvements and started programs to better reach out to the community.

"I think we've made progress, but there's always room for improvement," he said. "We welcome the opportunity to work with the community and continue to improve and to build on our successes."

But not everyone is convinced.

"Maybe APS has reasons to do things," Ryan said, "but they need to communicate them to the parents, and they need to communicate them better with us."