Parents, teachers and board members on Aug. 28 pressed the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education for clearer long-term plans and facility guarantees as EJ Martinez and Chaparral prepare to share a campus.
The concern centered on classroom size, building condition and the availability of basic services for young children. “Classrooms need enough open space for 18 to 26 students,” Tiffany Insignas wrote in an emailed public comment read at the meeting. She added concerns about windows, HVAC, and the adequacy of eight bathrooms for what she described as “over 400 students.”
Parent Kimberly Will, speaking in person, said she supports a new administrative building but worries that the district might fund an expensive administrative project while failing to provide “long term solutions” for school buildings serving students. Will said funding estimates being discussed ranged from $7 million to $14 million and said she wanted assurances projects would not require future demolition or rework.
Superintendent Griffin told the board that the district would hold a community meeting for the EJ Martinez community on Sept. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the EJ Martinez library. Board President Joe Abeyta and Board Member Gonzales were listed as attending that meeting.
Why it matters: Families said the shared campus presents daily logistical problems — long drop-off lines, students routed across the campus and limited family-event space — and asked the board to prioritize durable fixes rather than short-term band-aids.
The board did not vote on a facilities plan at the Aug. 28 meeting. Board members said they had read emails from EJ Martinez families and that the Sept. 2 meeting was intended to continue dialogue and hear community preferences.
What speakers asked for: Parents and staff requested separate, age-appropriate spaces for pre-K, adequate restroom capacity, classroom windows and functioning HVAC in all rooms, safer drop-off and pick-up arrangements, and playground and shade improvements. Michelle Franklin Hill, in an emailed comment read at the meeting, also urged the board to honor the school’s namesake, Eluterio J. Martinez, and the community legacy represented on the campus.
Next steps: The Sept. 2 community meeting was presented as the next formal opportunity for staff and the board to gather community input before any final decisions about facility plans or budgets are made.