Alisal Union ends a longtime relationship with folklorico contractor.

Wearing green Alisal T-shirts and green bows, dozens of people showed up to the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, June 5, showing support for Tonatiuh Danzantes del Quinto Sol, AUSD’s longtime after-school folklorico contractor. The district decided to end a working relationship of over 30 years. 

This happened a few days after the district ended a contract with another contractor, Alisal Community Arts Network, a nonprofit organization that has taught different after-school programs in the district, after the Monterey County District Attorney filed a complaint against Joshua Alfaro, AlisalCAN’s executive director, for child molestation.

Several people including parents, community members and children spoke in favor of Tonatiuh.

One of them was Mia Almaraz, a fifth-grader at Fremont Elementary who has been in the folklorico program since kindergarten. “Children like myself are being affected with the decision of removing Tonatiuh, because for me, Tonatiuh is not just a program but family,” Almaraz says.

Ramón Silva Ruelas, Tonatiuh’s director, says he couldn't reach an agreement with Jose Fausto, AUSD’s expanded learning director. Silva Ruelas says he requested two things. The first one is a proper facility to teach dance classes and storage space for the costumes. 

“I was asking for classes to be held in a suitable classroom, an indoor classroom, because sometimes I would find my teachers teaching in front of a fence or in the playground and I don't think that's where you teach dance,” Silva Ruelas says.  

In other school districts, Tonatiuh students have access to indoor spaces, according to Silva Ruelas. At Salinas City Elementary School District, students practice in the cafeteria at Lincoln Elementary, and practice dance in a dedicated classroom at Los Padres Elementary and Spreckels Elementary.

“Folklorico is very important to Alisal. We have had a folklorico program. We have one now, and we're going to have one in the future,” says Superintendent Jim Koenig. Koenig says the district was unable to reach an agreement with Silva Ruelas. 

Koenig says they don’t want students practicing folklorico outside either, but space is limited for the 15 programs the district runs for over 2,000 students (about 600 are enrolled in the folklorico program).

“There's a lot of competition for the facilities, and I can tell you the principals generally make a priority of making sure that folklorico is able to conduct their activities in the multi-purpose room,” Koenig says, adding the district couldn’t guarantee an indoor space for folklorico in the contract.

Several parents said they weren’t part of the decision-making and pointed out it was against the concept of community schools. (AUSD received $17.1 million in state funds to convert all 12 of its elementary schools into community schools.) Koenig says parents aren’t normally involved in this type of administrative decision-making, adding time was also a concern.

“The school is going to start again in eight short weeks, and we need to find another provider as soon as possible,” Koenig highlights. 

During the June 5 meeting, Silva Ruelas gave his farewell. “We remain dedicated to promoting and preserving Mexican folk dance and will persist in our efforts to provide exceptional cultural experiences for students,” he said. 

The new contractor, scheduled for approval on June 26, is Danzantes Del Valle, a Salinas-based nonprofit organization. Parents fear students won’t get the same quality students have received from Tonatiuh’s dance programs.