Climate Change

No final decisions were made tonight as the board for Santa Fe Public Schools continues to figure out how to close a potential $1.6 million budget gap for the next fiscal year, but there were a handful of moments where members seemed to concur.

One such moment was when members mostly agreed to bump up funds for a pool of social workers to support students' social and emotional needs, possibly in the form of one-time contracts.

The one-time increase, however, would come from the district's cash reserves, which it estimates to be about $7 million by June 2019.

"This is what the kids spoke about, not necessarily having guns in schools and all these things, but having emotional support," said board President Steve Carrillo.

Board Vice President Maureen Cashmon said she was amendable to the half-million for social workers suggested by Carrillo, but cautioned against making snap decisions.

"'I'm more than willing to put half a million dollars there," she said, adding there "has to be defined plan."

Carrillo asked Superintendent Veronica Garcia to incorporate an increase in professional development for social and emotional learning into the proposal.

"There's so much intervention that this team, [this] pool of people, could do," Garcia said. "I think that's going to leverage a lot of climate change in many of our schools."

Some board members also agreed the district should find a way to give all school district employees 2.5 percent raises, as required earlier this year by the state Legislature for teachers. SFPS would also apply the raises to ancillary staff like nurses and counselors, but not all staff.

At one point Grace Mayer, president of Santa Fe's chapter of the National Education Association, stood up from her chair and accused Carrillo of publicly bargaining workers' salaries rather than properly negotiating with union representatives.

"Run for a board seat," Carrillo shot back acidly.

Board members seemed more agreeable about where to shave off recurring funds in order to make up for the budget gap, which comes partially as a result of a district-wide drop in enrollment. That drop, though, means less funds would need to be allocated to certain schools where vacancies have existed year after year, resulting in some savings.

The board is also considering cutting from schools' administrative staff. Members reached a consensus to pay for some teacher professional development through the district's cash reserves, rather than cut it, as Garcia originally proposed.

Additional proposed cuts to make up the gap include a nixing a subsidy for student transport, paring back funds for physical and digital textbook materials, and reducing the district's legal expenses.

Garcia was tasked with drafting a plan for how to allocate enhanced funds for social workers and potential raises for all district staff before next week's school board meeting.

Once the board has settled on parameters for a budget, it will be sent to the state for final approval, likely within the next month.