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Community advocates urge Santa Fe school board to restore Communities in Schools funding
Summary
At the April 23 Santa Fe Public Schools meeting dozens of speakers urged the board to reverse planned cuts to Communities in Schools (CIS), citing local graduation gains, food pantries run by CIS coordinators and broader equity concerns tied to the Yazzie/Martinez mandates.
Dozens of community members pressed the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education on April 23 to keep funding for Communities in Schools (CIS), warning cuts would strip critical supports from the district’s most vulnerable students.
Joanna Ruppel, a board member of Communities in Schools of New Mexico, told the board CIS student-success facilitators provide tutoring, social-emotional support and help with food, clothing and housing needs. "Cutting Communities in Schools funding doesn't just reduce a service. It removes a proven cost-effective lifeline for students who need it the most," Ruppel said during the public forum.
Why it matters: Speakers testified that CIS coordinators operate school-based pantries, coordinate volunteer tutors and case-manage hundreds of students in Title I schools. Several speakers cited outcome data presented at the meeting: organizers said 96% of CIS case-managed seniors graduated last year and that CIS helps students remain in school.
Community testimony and examples were repeated through the forum. Volunteer tutor Lou Tilmont said CIS currently provides full-time facilitators in 13 Title I schools and coordinates dozens of volunteer tutors. "Seniors who are case-managed through CIS have a 96% graduation rate," he said. Jill Dixon, executive director of The Food Depot, described 13 school-based pantries that CIS site coordinators operate and said the Food Depot provides much of the food and infrastructure those pantries need.
Some speakers framed the funding question as an equity issue tied to the Martinez/Yazzie litigation. Miguel LoCastro argued cuts would "disproportionately impact low-income and Spanish-speaking communities," and urged the board to expand community-school partnerships rather than reduce them.
Administration response and budget context: District finance staff told the board the current CIS funding levels were set under a prior RFP/MOU that provided an initial $300,000, followed by reductions to $260,000 and then $200,000 in subsequent years. At the budget presentation later in the meeting the district listed Communities in Schools funding for FY27 as $200,000 under the planned procurement schedule. Finance staff said the district will put CIS services out to bid again and that ongoing funding sources would be re-evaluated in budget discussions.
Board next steps: The board did not vote on changing CIS funding at the meeting. Budget deliberations continued through a lengthy FY27 update and the board scheduled a budget study session to dig into options on May 7 and planned to take final action during the May 14 meeting cycle.
The public forum made clear the community views CIS as deeply integrated with school operations; advocates said the effect of funding reductions could be felt in graduation rates, food security and day-to-day school climate if the cuts move forward.
