Desegregation-funded programs outline services, warn cuts would hit students hardest

Directors for Tucson Unified’s desegregation‑funded programs told the governing board that proposed reductions would primarily affect student‑facing services such as tutoring, mentoring, summer supports and community outreach.

Maria Federico Brummer, director of Mexican American Student Services, described a portfolio that includes certified academic tutors, college‑mentoring and family outreach. She said community partnerships—University of Arizona programs, a dual‑enrollment Mexican American studies course and an annual Adelante parent‑and‑youth conference—amplify the department’s reach; she said the department’s current fiscal‑year budget is roughly in the low six‑figures and that a hypothetical 10 percent cut would require reallocations such as postponing two hourly college‑mentor positions and reducing site coverage.

“A large part of what we do is built in partnership with the university and our community,” Brummer said; she warned that fewer college mentors would mean fewer sites and fewer mentoring groups.

Dr. Strozier, director of African American Student Services, told the board the department has expanded from supporting roughly 30 schools to working districtwide and that about 94 percent of the department’s budget is payroll. She showed K–3 screening results and said roughly 60 percent of African American K–3 students are not meeting grade‑level DIBELS benchmarks; the department’s response includes grade‑level interventions, RTI reading and math supports and a summer internship program. She said eliminating positions would “directly impact African American students” and would reduce tutoring, heritage events, transition supports and the department’s suspension‑transition program.

The board also heard from the district’s Discipline Alternative Program for Excluded students (DAPE). Director Dr. Nunez said DAPE operates on a roughly 1:10 teacher ratio and that the program provides academic continuity for students serving long‑term suspensions. DAPE staff presented a budget reprioritization that would meet a 9–10 percent reduction target by postponing two vacant positions while continuing core services; Dr. Nunez warned vacancies were hard to fill and said the program’s community transition work (partnerships with Goodwill and Emerge) is central to returning students to their home schools.

Call‑to‑the‑audience speakers and a long set of written letters focused on testing and related‑service workloads. Teachers and dozens of related‑service staff (speech‑language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists) urged the board to adopt caseload caps and to channel funds to direct services rather than administrative expansion. Several community organizations and University of Arizona offices submitted letters urging continued support for the Mexican American and African American student services departments and flagged events such as Black Excellence Tucson and Adelante as community resources.

Board members asked administration to post detailed budget proposals publicly and to return with written scenarios for any requested savings. The administration said the desegregation proposals posted after the meeting will remain available for public comment and that no desegregation budget decisions are final until the district’s late‑June adoption timeline.