www.montereycountynow.com July 4-10, 2024 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 Alisal Union School District is getting ready for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, which begins Aug. 7. What might be missing: after-school programs in the arts. AUSD recently terminated contracts with two extracurricular providers. On May 30, AUSD announced it terminated its contract with Alisal Community Arts Network, known as AlisalCAN, a nonprofit that taught four programs in the district, after the group’s executive director, Joshua Alfaro, was arrested on charges of child molestation. Alfaro entered a plea of not guilty; his preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin July 10. Norma Villalobos says in Spanish her son, who graduated last year from elementary and attended AlisalCAN drumline and music programs, was affected by news of the arrest. He no longer plays his violin, does his homework or takes his dog Chispa for walks. “We don’t know how to support him,” Villalobos adds. About 500 students district-wide had expected to continue AlisalCAN classes over the summer. The district hasn’t yet found another organization to take over the drumline, colorguard, mariachi and cheer after-school programs. Ruth Alavez Gomez is a mother of three. Her youngest, Jario Muñoz Alavez, 7, was part of AlisalCAN’s mariachi group. “It’s a valuable program,” Alavez Gomez says, noting it gets kids out of their everyday routine. Her son was excited about the summer mariachi program, but it turned sour when it—including a performance at Stanford University in July—was canceled. “The district remains hopeful a program, or at least a plan, will be in place by the time students return for the 2024-25 school year,” Superintendent Jim Koenig says in an email. The district also switched to a new folklórico contractor after it couldn’t reach an agreement with Tonatiuh Danzantes del Quinto Sol, ending a 30-plus-year working relationship. On June 26, the board approved a one-year contract for $203,253 with Danzantes del Valle instead. At a board meeting on June 5, parents, teachers and students spoke in favor of keeping Tonatiuh. One of them was Mia Almaraz, a fifth-grader at Fremont Elementary, who has been in the folklórico 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 said. Ramón Silva Ruelas, Tonatiuh’s director, says he couldn’t reach an agreement with AUSD after requesting a proper facility and storage space for 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 the playground and I don’t think that’s where you teach dance,” he says. Space at AUSD is limited. The district runs 15 programs for over 2,000 students, about 600 of them in folklórico. “There’s a lot of competition for the facilities, and I can tell you the principals generally make a priority of making sure that folklórico is able to conduct their activities in the multi-purpose room,” Koenig says. School Bell After two shake-ups, Alisal Union School District is searching for an afterschool contractor for music and arts programs. By Celia Jiménez Several folklorico students including Natalia Oñate (left) and Mia Mendez (center) spoke during the Alisal Union School District board meeting in favor in Tonatiuh Danzantes del Quinto Sol. NEWS “Tonatiuh is not just a program, but family.” CELIA JIMÉNEZ
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