Special-education teachers from Nina Otero Elementary told the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education on Aug. 28 they are overburdened and need more clerical and translation support to manage individualized education programs (IEPs).
"We are hoping for a special ed secretary since we only have a PSS for half a day, 1 day a week," said Dr. Lisa Kristofferson, who identified herself as a middle-school resource teacher and spoke at the public forum. She said Nina Otero has the district's highest percentage of students on IEPs and thanked Deputy Superintendent Vanessa Romero and Associate Superintendent Jamie Holiday for recent in-person assistance.
Kristofferson also read a statement by Jamie Torres, a life-skills teacher who could not attend because she was injured by a student. Torres wrote about long-term impacts for students and the district’s responsibility to listen to key voices in education.
Board members and district staff thanked teachers for raising the issues. The meeting record shows staff provided translation assistance for IEPs and visited the school to help set up classrooms; teachers said that support helped but that ongoing clerical capacity remained inadequate.
Why it matters: Without consistent clerical support and reliable translation for IEPs, special-education teachers said they spend substantial time on paperwork and coordination rather than instruction, which they said affects service delivery for students with disabilities.
Decisions and directions: No formal board action or vote was recorded on staffing at the Aug. 28 meeting. Staff said they would continue targeted support and the superintendent later scheduled visits and follow-up with school leaders.
Ending: Teachers asked for another board visit and invited officials to tour special-education classrooms; the board agreed to continued engagement and to consider staffing and translation needs as part of district support plans.