Teachers union protests order to close DOE

RIO RANCHO — “Don’t let Donald Trump steal from our kids. Support the Department of Education.”

That was the chant of one protestor with a megaphone at the intersection of NM 528 and Southern Boulevard Saturday afternoon as the Rio Rancho Schools Employee Union gathered to protest the president’s order to close the Department of Education.

“We’re hoping to raise awareness of the federal government’s intention to reduce the Department of Education and therefore reduce services to students,” said Billie Helean, president of the RRSEU. “It’s a very busy intersection this time of day, and we wanted to reach as many people as possible.”

Those cuts, she said, could impact so many things, including fine arts and classes students rely on. She also said the cuts could mean a reduction in staff, leading to larger class sizes.

Helean said union members started planning the protest about a month ago and that they plan to be out there every two weeks. “I was worried we might not have many people, but it’s been a great turnout,” she said, noting that most of the approximately 30 protesters stationed on all four corners of the intersection were union members, teachers, educational assistants and even students.

Additionally, she said, some of the protestors from the Sandoval County Democrats’ protest at the Tesla dealership earlier in the day had migrated to the intersection to show their support.

Helean said they had received “lots of good public feedback” from people passing through the intersection, with many honking their horns in support of the protesters.

“A few cars, some folks have yelled at us, but we’ve just told them to have a nice day,” she said. A few minutes later, one of those cars passed by with someone yelling out the window to “Close the DOE.”

“It’s been a really good day so far,” Helean said about an hour into the protest. While it was scheduled to go about 60 or 90 minutes, “I have a feeling some people will want to stay out here longer,” she added.