Taos – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland released the following statement:

“Today, we were informed that Taos Municipal Schools Superintendent Lilian Torrez intends to fire high school English teacher and local Taos Federation of United School Employees president, Francis Hahn, over his advocacy on behalf of fellow Taos educators during a recent threat of school violence.

“This decision is problematic for several reasons, but most chilling is the implication that public educators can and will be terminated for speaking up for safety in their places of work. Considering the on-going epidemic of violence in our schools – here in New Mexico and across our country – the message being delivered by this action is that public educators cannot rely on local administrators to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of educational staff and will be punished for speaking out.

“By choosing to fire Mr. Hahn instead of seeking a more rational solution, Taos Municipal Schools is further exacerbating New Mexico’s historic and crisis-level educator vacancies by dismissing a popular educator who simply wants to return to his classroom to serve his students. This truly is a disservice to Taos students and families.

“We will always fight for educators when a wrong has been committed and this instance is no different. We plan to fight Mr. Hahn’s firing and will always work to protect worker and union rights in our schools.

“On behalf of Mr. Hahn, we want to thank the countless members of the Taos community who have reached out in support and to the students, both present and past, who have spoken out on behalf of Mr. Hahn. Their words of encouragement have provided comfort to him during this needlessly stressful time.”