Immigration crisis affects Las Cruces Public School District’s budget, staffing, and resources

Documents acquired by PDE in response to a public records request reveal that Las Cruces Public School District has been affected by the immigration crisis for several years. Emails received from the public records request reveal the district has had to reallocate funds, hire staff, and create new task forces to handle the influx of immigrant students.

In April 2019, the district hired a “Family and Community Support Facilitator for English Learners and Immigrant Students.” The job description for the role listed responsibilities such as “Assists in collaborating within Dual Language and Migrant Education program personnel, community members and external stakeholders to identify resources and assist Title III served immigrant families” and “Assists in establish partnerships with local agencies to provide immigrant parents with ESL, GED, and computer skills classes.”

In 2020, the district hired a “Student, Parent, and Family Facilitator for Translation and Interpretation and Community Outreach” in order to “provide support services and facilitates school/home communication involving non-English speaking immigrant/refugee families and offers resources for EL/Immigrant families focused on literacy and numeracy.” Another responsibility of the position is to “Collaborate with Dual Language and Migrant Education program personnel, community members, and external stakeholders to identify resources and provide assistance migrant and immigrant families.”

The district also sought to hire a “Coordinator of Bilingual Education and Community Outreach” who would have responsibilities like “Establish[ing] partnerships with local agencies to provide immigrant parents with ESL, GED, and Language Academy classes.” Later, the district sought to hire a “International Welcome Center Student and Family Advisor” to establish a “School International Welcome Center.” The Welcome Center’s aims would be to “invites participation and partnership through the development of a wide variety of activities for students and families,” and some of the advisor’s responsibilities would be to “ensure accurate placement and support of Emergent Bilingual, immigrant, and international exchange students” and “Collaborate with LCPS personnel and community members to identify resources and provide assistance to EB/immigrant and international students/families.”

Other documents reveal that the district has had to reallocate funds in response to immigrant influxes. At a board meeting on January 11, 2024, there was a request to transfer $6000 from the student support budget for “additional academic support of migrant students.” Another request asks to transfer $15,595 from the student support budget to be “used for internet services for immigrant families to have immediate access to technology.”

The district also requested $30,000 in Title III grant funding so the district can ensure that “all immigrant families will have internet enabled devices and training to support the use of their loaned technology.”

In a second grant request, the district asks for $40,000 in Title III funding to hire additional staff to “provide services to immigrant children.” The request cites that “personnel that support immigrant students in a 1:1 setting will be able to differentiate and meet the unique needs of each student” and that “these staff will also be able to work closely with teachers and other school staff to ensure that accommodations and supports are in place for students throughout the school day.”

Needs stemming from the immigration crisis led the district to partner with several outside groups as well. A translation service, Boostlingo, asked to use Las Cruces as a testimonial and case study. A mock-up of the report states that “LCPS encountered a significant challenge with the arrival of families speaking languages other than Spanish or English into their community” and needed translation services because of an “Influx of families speaking languages beyond English and Spanish.” An email from LCPS’s Executive Director of Bilingual Education, Translation & Interpretation, and Community Outreach to a district colleague confirmed that the district did use the service and said she was okay with Boostlingo using the case study.