U.S. EEOC to enforce subpoenas of Gallup-Mckinley Schools staff
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has turned to the court system to get two Gallup-Mckinley County Schools administrators to cooperate with an investigation. Today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a federal court filing to enforce two administrative subpoenas it issued during its investigation of Gallup schools. In August 2024, the EEOC alleged Gallup-Mckinley County Schools intentionally discriminated against Native American employees and job applicants. Such conduct would violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
As part of its investigation, the EEOC requested interviews with two high-level administrators. A statement from the agency today said the administrators initially agreed to cooperate, but canceled scheduled interviews and since then have refused to participate in the process. The release also said the administrators have not followed the appeal process available for a review of an EEOC subpoena. The agency said it 鈥渨ill not hesitate to pursue all available remedies, including a subpoena enforcement action in federal court.鈥�
Report: NM's free school meals initiative boosting participation rates 鈥� with hefty bill - Dan Boyd,
New Mexico鈥檚 push to provide free school meals for all K-12 public school students statewide is still being fully digested two years after being approved.
A legislative report released Thursday found the 2023 law has boosted school meals participation rates around the state as intended, but at a rapidly growing cost.
Meanwhile, complying with a new Public Education Department rule that 50% of school breakfasts and lunches are made from scratch has proven challenging for many districts, due primarily to staffing and infrastructure issues, the Legislative Finance Committee report found.
But some lawmakers said the free school meals program is trending in the right direction, despite the logistical challenges.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care how long it takes them to get this done, I just want it done right,鈥� Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said in an interview after a Thursday legislative hearing in Las Cruces.
He also said implementing the initiative will be different in rural school districts than it will be in larger ones like Albuquerque Public Schools, which has a centralized kitchen.
The free school meals law was in 2023 to address one of the nation鈥檚 highest food insecurity rates.
It specifically requires K-12 public schools to establish programs to offer 鈥渉igh-quality meals鈥� 鈥� both breakfast and lunch 鈥� to all students at no charge. But schools were given a two-year period to prepare for the healthy meals provision.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham it could boost academic outcomes in New Mexico, saying, 鈥淜ids learn better when their stomachs are full and they鈥檙e not worried about their next meal.鈥�
Since the free school meals legislation was signed in 2023, the percentage of students eating school breakfasts and lunches has increased in all 10 of New Mexico鈥檚 largest school districts, the LFC report found. That includes a 9.7% increase in APS and a 14.7% jump in Rio Rancho Public Schools.
However, the school meals participation increases have been greatest among students from higher-income families who would not have qualified for free or reduced-price meals under the previous eligibility rules, the report found.
The free school meals are paid for with a mix of state and federal funds, with the federal government primarily picking up the tab for children whose families fall under a federal poverty threshold.
The overall cost has increased in recent years 鈥� jumping from $206 million in the 2022-23 school year to $248 million in the following school year, according to the LFC report. In addition, total spending on food per student has gone from $486 in 2018 to $830 in 2024.
鈥淭he state鈥檚 investment is leading to increased participation, but we鈥檙e also seeing increased expenditures,鈥� LFC program evaluator Ryan Tolman said during Thursday鈥檚 hearing.
Greg Frostad, the Public Education Department鈥檚 assistant secretary of policy and technology, said looming federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, could leave the state on the hook for an increased share of the school meals program.
But he said the PED has identified other federal funding streams that could alleviate the state鈥檚 financial burden.
Meanwhile, Laura Henry-Hand, the deputy director of PED鈥檚 Student Success and Wellness Bureau, said trainings on the health meals guidelines have been provided for school districts around New Mexico. She also said many districts have entered into contracts to buy locally sourced food.
Specifically, she cited the Roswell Independent Schools鈥� use of local beef, Bernalillo Public Schools鈥� decision to rely on dry beans and Farmington Municipal Schools using 10% of its allocated food budget to purchase local products.
Padilla, who was one of the sponsors of the 2023 legislation, said many school kitchens will have to be expanded or rebuilt to allow for more on-site meal preparation.
鈥淲e knew there was going to be a cost to make this program work,鈥� Padilla told the Journal.
At least some lawmakers said they鈥檙e hopeful the program will eventually provide cost savings 鈥� along with healthier meals.
鈥淒ry beans are cheaper than a can of beans, I know that,鈥� Rep. Jackie Chatfield, R-Mosquero, said during Thursday鈥檚 hearing.
NM Gov declines GOP鈥檚 invite to visit ICE detention center - Patrick Lohmann,
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham鈥檚 鈥渂usy schedule鈥� Monday means she won鈥檛 join Republican lawmakers on a tour of New Mexico鈥檚 biggest immigration detention center, a spokesperson for the governor told Source New Mexico on Thursday.
New Mexico Republicans shared a letter on announcing some members would be touring the Otero County Processing Center on Monday, and they invited the governor to come along. The detention center in Chaparral currently houses most of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in the state, andsince President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown began this year.
Thetold an interim legislative committee in July that the governor was considering adding a measure to the agenda at an upcoming special session that would ban immigration detention facilities in New Mexico.
鈥淏efore we take any action with such far-reaching implications (for example, putting New Mexicans out of work and risking millions of federal funding), it is essential that we have a clear first-hand understanding of the conditions within these facilities and the operations that take place there,鈥� Republican lawmakers Rep. Andrea Reeb and Sen. Crystal Brantley wrote in the letter.
The letter went on to invite the governor to tag along for the visit at 8 a.m. Monday.
鈥淲e believe your participation would be instrumental in ensuring that any decisions made are fully informed and in the best interests of the people of New Mexico,鈥� the Republicans wrote.
In an email Thursday afternoon, Michael Coleman, the spokesperson for the governor, told Source that the governor won鈥檛 join the tour and also hasn鈥檛 decided yet whether she鈥檒l add an ICE detention facility agenda to the special session call.
鈥淭he governor has a busy schedule on Monday and won鈥檛 be joining in the tour,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still working to determine a special session agenda, and no final decision has been made on this particular issue.鈥�
He also said the governor hasn鈥檛 yet decided on a date for the special session, which her lawyer said she anticipated would happen later this month or in September to address federal funding cuts Congress recently enacted in the 鈥淏ig Beautiful Bill鈥� act. Other crime-related measures could also be on the governor鈥檚 call.
Senate GOP spokesperson Brandon Harris told Source New Mexico earlier Thursday that delays around background checks likely mean reporters won鈥檛 be able to join the lawmakers during their tour, but they intend to hold a news conference or otherwise provide an update to the public about the tour.
That could be on social media or at a previously scheduled meeting of the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee also occurring Monday in Las Cruces. But the governor, who hadn鈥檛 responded to the GOP鈥檚 invite as of 1:30 p.m. Monday, would be able to join if she wanted, he said.
鈥淚f anyone could probably get expedited [approval],鈥� it鈥檚 the governor, Harris said. 鈥淚f she wanted to, she probably could.鈥�
The GOP鈥檚 letter said the CCJ committee canceled a long-promised tour of the facility, citing concerns about background checks.
As of Aug. 4, the average daily inmate population at Otero County Detention Center is 863, an increase of about 60 inmates, on average, since December last year, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The other two New Mexico facilities in Torrance and Cibola counties have average daily populations of 444 and 223 ICE detainees, respectively, according to TRAC.
Health Department contractor distributes $1.5M to violence prevention nonprofits - Austin Fisher,
Community organizations from across New Mexico received a boost of public funding this week that they will use over the next year to prevent violence.
The nonprofit distributed $1.5 million in one-time state grant funding to 18 different nonprofit organizations practicing evidence-based solutions to violence, according to a on Wednesday. The recipients received between $30,000 to $200,000 each, according to the release.
Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Executive Director Alexandria Taylor told Source NM on Thursday that the grant recipients use public health approaches to preventing people鈥檚 harmful behavior in the first place rather than policing it after the fact.
鈥淚t鈥檚 investing in longer hours at a community center, people who are holding dance lessons for young people, or giving young people and their peers something to be proud of in their communities and in their daily lives,鈥� Taylor said in an interview. 鈥淭he antidote to violence is joy and connection.鈥�
Director of Prevention Jess Clark told Source the grant recipients are trying to address the root causes of sexual, intimate partner and gun violence; and they already have deep trusted relationships in their communities.
鈥淭hese are the programs that our communities who are most impacted by violence are already turning to,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淥ne incredible thing about doing prevention work that鈥檚 rooted in a public health framework is that when you鈥檙e focusing on one area, you end up impacting many other areas of violence. So it ends up being money that is very, very well spent.鈥�
Organizations applied for the grants in July, Taylor said. Recipients had to be nonprofits and were chosen based on their proven histories of culturally reflective violence prevention programming and their abilities to complete the work within the next year, Clark said.
For example, offers prevention presentations and educational workshops for survivors of sexual violence in Spanish-speaking communities. The funding will allow them to expand their services, Director of Education and Community Engagement Marian M茅ndez-Cera said in a statement.
鈥淲e focus on proactive solutions rooted in prevention 鈥� educating communities, challenging harmful norms, and fostering a culture of respect and consent,鈥� M茅ndez-Cera said. 鈥淎s a trauma-informed agency, we provide strength-based, community-driven, linguistically specific services that honor survivors鈥� dignity and draw from the values, traditions, and collective strength of the communities we serve.鈥�
More than half of all New Mexicans have been sexually assaulted or raped at some point in their life, and 40% have been the victim of some kind of sexual violence while in New Mexico in the previous year, according to a the coalition commissioned earlier this year.
received another grant for its work empowering young people impacted by incarceration, poverty and trauma to become civic leaders through project-based learning, peer mentorship and advocacy for systemic change.
鈥淕uided by the truth that our liberation is bound together, we are weaving networks of safety and belonging that resist disposability and affirm life,鈥� Unlock Civics NM Program Director Justin Allen said in a statement. 鈥淭ogether, we are building the conditions for safer, more connected communities, not only for today, but as an inheritance of justice and possibility for generations to come.鈥�
Other grant recipients include the Albuquerque-based Keshet Dance Company, Arise Sexual Assault Services in Portales, Tewa Women United in Espa帽ola and the Chavez County CASA Program in Roswell.
The money comes from the Violence Intervention Program Fund in 2022 by the New Mexico Legislature and overseen by the New Mexico Department of Health, which hired the Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs to distribute the funds, Taylor said.
The coalition itself received $200,000 to pay for training the grant recipients and evaluating their work based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards, she said.
鈥淲e are excited to have this opportunity to expand support for community organizations working on holistic public health approaches to violence intervention,鈥� DOH Office of Injury and Violence Prevention Manager Kathleen Maese told Source on Thursday. 鈥淭hese organizations implement evidence-based, community-centered, and culturally appropriate programs covering upstream prevention and intervention to address violence.鈥�
The New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline is available for anyone to call to talk about their experience. For anyone in need of support, please call, text or chat the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-844-667-2457 or . The Helpline is available 24/7 and is 100% confidential and free.