SFCC Faculty Tell Board Low Salaries Creating Hardships, Departures

SFCC faculty to board: Salaries barely a living wage

Amid contract negotiations, nearly a dozen full-time Santa Fe Community College faculty members last night testified to the SFCC governing board about the need to increase salaries, with Lenny Gannes, president of the union representing full-time faculty, telling the board current full-time salaries at the school barely constitute a living wage unless a faculty member is a single adult, “without student debt and without hopes of buying a home.” Faculty, he told the board, “should be able to afford to live in the community that they serve. They should be able to afford to raise a family here. They should be able to afford to care for sick parents or other family members. Faculty should be able to afford to retire after serving our community for our career.” Numerous faculty detailed to the board their difficulties in making ends meet without other work, along with the hardships they have faced due to their wages. The SFCC AFT-AAUP union began contract negotiations in January to improve faculty salaries, benefits and protections and says the number of full-time SFCC faculty decreased by 30% in the last four years, with many leaving because of their salaries. SFCC President Becky Rowley said last night the college is in the process of securing a contractor to perform a salary study for the school, but said she can’t discuss details of situation while bargaining with the union is underway. Nonetheless, she said: “I do appreciate their comments and them coming forward. We know it’s a problem, and we are committed to working on it, and I look forward to working with them on trying to do as much as we can.”

NM reports first flu-related pediatric death this season

The state health department yesterday reported New Mexico’s first influenza-associated pediatric death for the 2023-24 flu season: a child 5-12 years of age in Bernalillo County (DOH says it will not be releasing additional information about the victim to protect the family’s privacy). The news comes as vaccination rates in New Mexico for seasonal flu remains low, officials say, less than 30% overall, according to the most recent health department influenza report. According to the health department, it has thus far identified 94 pneumonia and flu-related deaths among adults since the start of flu season, with influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses remaining elevated. “Vaccination is the best way to prevent severe infection with respiratory viruses, and many New Mexicans are unvaccinated this season,” DOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham says in a statement. “It’s not too late to get vaccinated, and it can be a lifesaver: The more people vaccinated, the lower the chance of serious illness at any age.” DOH recommends the flu vaccine each season for everyone 6 months of age and older; several groups remain at risk for complications from the flu, including pregnant women, adults 50 years and older and children ages 6 months to 5 years, among others. People can find and schedule vaccines online or call the DOH help-line at 1-833-796-8773. Also in vaccine news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Gov signs housing, infrastructure bills

In a ceremony at the state Capitol yesterday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed three bills related to housing and infrastructure, saying in a statement each will “make a huge difference in the state’s ability to take advantage of every dollar when it comes to infrastructure opportunities.” The New Mexico Match Fund, House Bill 177, creates a state fund to help entities such as state, local and tribal governments, obtain federal matching funds and “to offset higher project costs incurred to comply with federal requirements.” Lead sponsor state Rep. Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque, says in a statement the bill “unlocks billions in federal dollars to support statewide infrastructure and rural development projects that will pay dividends for decades to come.” HB195, Housing Fund and Changes, among other provisions, allows the New Mexico Finance Authority to provide housing development loans, creating “a renewed sense of possibility for New Mexico’s working families, by supporting the development of housing that is actually affordable,” lead sponsor Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, says in a statement. Lastly, HB232, creates a new division at the Department of Finance and Administration “tasked with improving and streamlining infrastructure, capital improvement planning, tracking funding and project progress, and assisting rural communities.” In addition, the governor also signed several bills related to housing, water and conservation.

GOP blocks IVF bill co-sponsored by US Sen. Heinrich

Republicans in the US Senate yesterday blocked a bill co-sponsored by US Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, intended to secure access to in vitro fertilization In the wake of a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos created through IVF should be considered children. The Access to Family Building Act, introduced by US Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, would create a “statutory right for an individual to access, without prohibition or unreasonable limitation or interference, assisted reproductive technology services, such as IVF, and for a healthcare provider to provide ART services.” The bill also would allow the US Department of Justice to pursue a civil action against any state, government official, individual or entity that violates the law’s protections. “First, it was banning abortion. Then, it was restricting access to contraceptives. And now, it’s threatening families’ ability to grow their families through IVF,” Heinrich said in a statement. “For Republicans, overturning Roe v. Wade was just the beginning of their agenda to roll back women’s reproductive freedoms.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement following the blocked vote, which she described as “outrageous,” adding: “Let’s be clear—every woman in this country should have the freedom to make the decision to have a child, and about one in five American women struggle with infertility and many rely on IVF. This is a basic issue of reproductive freedom.” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, whose administration has taken several measures to protect reproductive freedom in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, joined other female Democratic governors on CNN recently to discuss the Alabama ruling and the ongoing impact of the assaults on women’s reproductive health care. “We’re on the frontlines of protecting women from other states,” she said. “New Mexico is leaning in to make sure women in Oklahoma and Texas and Nevada have safe harbor in our state for…basic care in reproductive rights and abortion care and after care. It’s outrageous.”

Listen up

Were we a leapling, we would gladly forego birthdays and would likely take advantage of the math when asked our age. Still, for the lucky, growing older is both unavoidable and a best-case scenario, even if it sometimes feels like a practical joke played on mortals by laughing, ancient deities. Aging also is the topic on today’s 8 am KUNM’s Let’s Talk New Mexico call-in show, pegged to a recent KFF Health News and New York Times series that calculates approximately 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day until 2030. The show will feature one of the reporters on the series, along with local officials with resources to share on the subject. Email or call in with your thoughts: LetsTalk@kunm.org or (505) 277-5866.

Discovering the sound of Mozart’s music

Opera educator and lecturer Oliver Prezant’s “Discovering the Music of Mozart” at 6 pm this evening (tickets $25; students with ID, $10) at CCA’s Muñoz Waxman Gallery (1050 Old Pecos Trail) will give the “audience a chance to luxuriate in the beauty of the music and the way the music enhances, supports and deepens the text,” he tells SFR. Renowned soprano Amy Owens and pianist Nathan Salazar join Prezant this evening to perform two arias: Pamina’s “Ach, ich fühl’s” from The Magic Flute and Despina’s “Una donna a quindici anni” from Così fan tutte. “They’re completely different arias,” Prezant says, but the “interactive musical exploration,” one of several Prezant—who lectures each summer at the Santa Fe Opera—offers through his Opus OP Arts and Education Projects initiative aimed at enhancing listeners’ experiences. Other upcoming events include a March 7 program on “the operatic trumpet” and a March 21 exploration of the music of Brahms. Tonight’s program, he says, “really is about giving the audience a chance to share their experience of the music with one another, and with the performers, which is a really rare opportunity. We’ll be exploring the music in little bits to understand the shape of the line; the subtleties of the rhythms that Mozart chooses; little gestures in the accompaniment that may change the meaning of something: a twist of harmony here, or a change of texture there. It’s an opportunity for the audience to experience the music—it’s kind of like slow food: You get to savor every little bit of it.” Plus, he adds, the event will end with “with a little bit of cake and some sparkling beverages” to celebrate Italian composer Gioachino Rossini’s Leap Year birthday in 1792.

Take a (very long) hike

Outside magazine’s thru-hiking expert Grayson Haver Currin ranks the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails, aka the Triple Crown—which pass through 22 states—for difficulty, with New Mexico landing at #11 in the category of “the totally pleasants,” or states on which the writer looks back upon “almost entirely, with fondness. They’re challenging but not daunting, more beautiful than brutal. Ask me to hike across any of them again, and I’ll take a week or two away to join you without hesitation.” Haver Currin landed in New Mexico last and notes its aridity and night-time temperature dips may challenge newbies to the climate, but otherwise “New Mexico is a wonder, its northern expanses of red rock giving way to gentle ponderosa mesas to inland seas of chapparal that always make me feel like I’m floating as I walk.” Meanwhile, over at The Trek, where thru-hiking writers offer advice and stories of their Triple Crown experiences, contributor Richard pens a post on The Continental Divide, “Old Boots, New Mexico,” in which he encounters smoke upon entering the state and later wears out his boots when he reaches Cuba—the latter situation one he expected. To that end, Richard offers tips about shipping packages to Cuba and other nitty gritty details from his journey. For those looking for less ambitious hikes, the Travel includes White Sands National Park on its list of “10 easy US Hikes with scenic sunset views,” which features “several well-maintained trails for hikers to access the park’s best sunset viewing points. Dune Life Nature Trail is the best of these trails for those looking to access the sunset without having to worry about a difficult or strenuous hike.”

Achoo!

The National Weather Service forecasts a mostly cloudy day to start, then gradual sun, with a high temperature near 52 degrees and north wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Looks like the winds will crank back up this weekend. If said winds along with the blooming Juniper have you sneezing or otherwise afflicted, University of New Mexico’s Department of Internal Medicine Associate Professor and American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Dr. Osman Dokmeci offers an allergy survival guide for this (and all) allergy seasons.

Thanks for reading! Personally, The Word would enjoy a new calendar with an extra week every six years—if for no other reason than to keep the space-time continuum interesting. Read the back story on the alternative calendar in this New York Times story on Leap Day, which will be celebrated by leaplings today and into the weekend in the Leap Year Capital of the World, located on the New Mexico/Texas border.