Taos – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland and Taos Federation of United School Employees (TFUSE) President Francis Hahn, issued the following statements:

“It is with deep sadness that members of TFUSE and the larger Taos education community learned of a violent incident involving a student member of our school community. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our public schools.

“We are pleased to learn that the victim is in stable condition and that the alleged perpetrator of this act is in custody, however, understandably, this event has shaken the Taos Schools community deeply.

“We applaud the Taos Municipal Schools’ decision to move our students and educators to remote learning out of an abundance of caution. While potentially inconvenient, this decision properly centers our student, family, and educator physical safety. TFUSE is ready and willing to partner with administration to create long-term solutions to our school safety which seek to prevent all acts of violence in our school community,” said Hahn.

“School violence is never acceptable, and when it hits close to home, it is even more traumatic for our students and educators. This most recent incident underscores the real need for our Legislature to invest in social and emotional supports for students and staff through renewed investments in social workers, counselors, psychologists, nurses, and other skilled professionals.

“By creating relationships built on trust, we can hope to identify and address the needs of our educational community before another incident like this occurs. We stand ready to partner with New Mexico lawmakers to enact meaningful change in the upcoming Legislative session. Lives are at stake, and we cannot afford to delay in acting,” said Holland.

TFUSE educators who are experiencing trauma, or simply wish to speak to a mental health professional may visit aft.org/benefits/trauma and utilize our union’s free counseling services.