Ruby Williams, left, and Aceson Urbanic try to get their rhythm in sync while passing batons and singing children’s songs from around the globe last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho. A legislative report calls for fine arts to be considered a core part of elementary education, but some advocates worry that could jeopardize funding.
Day campers learn the children's song "Ram Sam Sam" from Brazil as they work on their parachute choreography last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho.
Art teacher Antonia Bynum makes a judgment call for day campers Michael Montoya, right, and Noel Bresnehan on who is taller, spiky hair notwithstanding, last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho on Wednesday.
Scottie Richard, left, and Everly Coca work on their sculptures last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho.
Ruby Williams, left, and Aceson Urbanic try to get their rhythm in sync while passing batons and singing children’s songs from around the globe last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho. A legislative report calls for fine arts to be considered a core part of elementary education, but some advocates worry that could jeopardize funding.
A proposal to make fine arts a core subject for New Mexico elementary students is raising hackles in some corners — and not where you might expect.
A number of art educators and art education advocates say they’re concerned that instead of enshrining fine arts as a staple of elementary education in New Mexico, the preliminary proposal from the Legislative Education Study Committee could actually make it easier for schools and school districts to use that money for other purposes.
Currently, districts and charter schools have to apply for funding for their elementary school fine arts programs and give assurances for how they’ll use the money. The report, published in December, suggests removing the need for that application process.
“That [recommendation] sounds good on the surface, but our concern is if you don’t specify it for fine arts, and you don’t have assurances … it’ll get lost in the general formula,” said Kurt Schmidt, executive director of fine arts at Rio Rancho Public Schools. “We’re really concerned about this proposal because it could erase all assurance and lead to the diminishment of all fine arts programs across the state.”
The suggestion came within a slate of other preliminary ideas for how to update and improve the New Mexico’s half-century-old school funding formula, which underwent a monthslong review last year by analysts, educators, state officials and lawmakers. About 90% of public school funding is issued through that formula, said Sara Cordova, the state Public Education Department’s school budget bureau director, which generally tries to distribute funding to give kids equitable access to resources regardless of geography or community wealth.
Day campers learn the children's song "Ram Sam Sam" from Brazil as they work on their parachute choreography last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho.
In a December report, analyst and author Daniel Estupiñan suggested recognizing elementary fine arts programs as “core foundational experiences for all students” could ensure better access and get rid of the burden of applying for those funds, a process set up by the 2003 Fine Arts Education Act.
If that proposal became law, Cordova said, all districts and schools would receive funding for fine arts at the elementary level. The legislative report makes the same recommendation for elementary physical education, although Cordova said a key difference is that state statute requires schools to provide elementary gym classes.
Schmidt said the worry is that without the application process and the designated fine arts line item, school districts and charter schools could put those funds to other uses. While that may be technically possible now, he said the application process serves as a bit of protection from fine arts funds being absorbed into schools’ broader budgets.
“That puts a little bit more of the onus on districts to spend it for fine arts,” Schmidt said.
Art teacher Antonia Bynum makes a judgment call for day campers Michael Montoya, right, and Noel Bresnehan on who is taller, spiky hair notwithstanding, last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho on Wednesday.
Cristina González, the arts education coordinator for Santa Fe Public Schools, said she doesn’t agree schools can repurpose elementary fine arts funding as things stand today.
“The Fine Arts Education Act gives a lot of leeway on how districts interpret ‘arts education’ … [but] I wouldn’t say technically you can use it for anything,” she said. “That’s not the intent of the law.” But González agreed with Schmidt’s concerns that the change could result in districts feeling more free to use arts funding to shore up other programs.
“Some districts will continue to fund the arts,” she said, adding that for Santa Fe Public Schools, for example, fine arts have always been a priority.
“Many districts across the state of New Mexico will not, and it will spell the death of arts education for many children,” she said.
Harlan Gant shows off his most recent creation during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho.
Michelle Lemons, executive director of the New Mexico Art Education Association, said the change would be a major step backward.
“To revert back to that format seems counterintuitive to us,” Lemons said.
There’s still a long path from the committee’s report to actual change. Formal proposals for changes to the state funding formula won’t materialize until the days leading up to the 2025 legislative session, which kicks off in January.
“We’re going to continue to listen to feedback from folks as we move forward through the process,” said John Sena, deputy director of the Legislative Education Study Committee.
González said the discussion raises a larger concern for her: She doesn’t think the state is offering enough support for fine arts education in general. New Mexico, she said, doesn’t have a fine arts graduation requirement for high school seniors or required fine arts instructional time.
“I can’t fathom that a state that relies so heavily on the creative economy, on the arts, on arts-adjacent tourism … does not invest more heavily in arts education,” she said.
Scottie Richard, left, and Everly Coca work on their sculptures last week during the Arts of Success day camp at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho.
At the Public Education Department’s Literacy and Humanities Bureau, a single specialist handles both fine arts and social studies for the entire state, although spokeswoman Janelle Taylor García noted in an email the department can pull together teams of specialists and educators for specific initiatives. González said she’d like to see dedicated specialists for visual and media arts as well as for performing arts like music and theater, to offer supports to educators and administrators.
The Public Education Department supports educators “across all content areas,” Taylor García wrote, pointing in particular to a Literacy and Humanities Bureau conference just a few weeks ago attended by more than 700 educators from around the state. The conference, she wrote, was structured to address a common problem of educators feeling “siloed” in their content areas.
“New Mexico-based presenters addressed such topics as how to integrate theater, movement and poetry into lessons on social studies and other academic content,” she wrote. “This shift to holding a general conference that includes teachers from all literacy disciplines allows for educators to collaborate and share ideas.”
González said she would like to hear more discussion about arts as an avenue for better serving the children identified in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, which led to a ruling that New Mexico was failing to provide a sufficient education to low-income, special education and Native American students and English language learners.
“The arts might be our best tool to support students culturally, linguistically, to support students with their social and emotional learning,” González said. “Let’s get arts educators involved in these conversations at a very high level.”
“It is understood that in our great arts-driven state, the arts hold an especially important place in the cultural expression of students and families, which should be leveraged to promote equitable access to educational opportunities and academic outcomes,” she wrote.
