Looking to avoid a later school day, parents and staff at Inez Elementary School took their case to the Albuquerque Public Schools board Wednesday evening.
They told the board they’ve seen the schedule change three years in a row and would like to keep the current bell times.
The speakers said the current schedule works fine for everyone and that a planned change could hurt enrollment and staffing, as well as adding to parents’ childcare expenses.
The district has set a 2024-2025 bell schedule that will see Inez’s school days start at 8:40 am and run to 4:10 pm. This school year, the day is from 8:05 am to 3:35 pm.
Opponents of the change spoke of being told by district officials that the change to bell schedules is driven by transportation, namely the need to arrange bus routes more efficiently. However, the speakers said, no children are bused to Inez.
“We anticipate that many families and staff members will leave Inez if the proposed bell schedule goes into effect next year,” parent Nick Porter said. “As busing is not a factor at Inez, please use your power to do the right thing and allow this community to have influence on the decisions which affect it.”
Claire Aldrich said it’s a matter of autonomy for Inez, which is a community school serving the Snow Heights and Inez neighborhoods. The current schedule is better, she said.
“It’s what families want, it’s better for students, and it’s what staff wants,” Aldrich said. “I would like that you listen to what the community wants and give us the chance to make this decision for ourselves.”
Transportation routes and school bell schedules are considered final at the moment, APS Spokesperson Martín Salazar said this morning, but he said district officials will consider revisiting the issue based on how many bus drivers can be hired over the summer.
Salazar acknowledged that Inez has no bused students this year, but said there could be some next year. He said Inez had originally been assigned a 9:15 start time, which was moved earlier.
He also noted that Inez is a Transformational Opportunity Pilot School, in a special APS program that extends instructional time for certain campuses.
Controversial prom act
Other speakers during the public forum at the meeting expressed concerns about a performance at the April 20 Atrisco Heritage Academy High School prom. Some felt the dance by Dylan Payan, also known as Mythica Sahreen, was “pornography.”
In a video posted on TikTok, Payan, dressed in a leotard and heels, dances across the floor of the Albuquerque Convention Center, surrounded by students. In the clip, Payan doesn’t appear to make contact with anyone.
“I don’t care what persuasion you are,” Marcie May said. “But what we saw is adult entertainment being brought into a high-school public setting. It was supposed to be fun. I don’t know if you saw the faces of some of those children, but they were really uncomfortable because they had somebody twerking.”
Renee Pacheco was also among those who took issue with Payan’s performance.
“We as parents are outraged that the school had the gall to allow a sexualized performance in front of our teens,” she said. “A man dressed up in skimpy attire, dancing provocatively and showing his genitalia. You have to be 18 years old to enter a strip club where they dance like this.”
Erica McDowell said the incident has resulted in the spread of a lot of misinformation about LGBTQ+ communities and other marginalized people.
“I want to remind the board and the larger APS community that we have an obligation to ensure that schools are safe places for every single student and staff member regardless of their identity,” she said. “We need to be mindful of our rhetoric surrounding this incident and realize that that rhetoric has a real impact on students and staff (in) this district.”
Following the incident, Salazar said, officials at the school were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by district leadership.
Principal Irene Cisneros is one of those officials, as Anthony Lovato is now listed on the school’s website as acting principal.