SFPS President Sascha Guinn Anderson Leaving to Join Seminary

At Santa Fe Public Schools’ June 20 school board meeting, District 5 representative and Board President Sascha Guinn Anderson announced that this would be her last meeting as a school board member after serving on the board since January 2022.

“I’m deeply sad to be stepping down from the board, but I am so heartened that Santa Fe Public Schools is in such good hands,” Anderson said. “Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for all that you have taught me.”

Anderson said her decision to leave “has nothing to do with my time on the Board of Education,” and that she will be leaving Santa Fe because she was accepted into the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, where she plans to study to become a priest for the Episcopal Church.

“It was a process that I thought would take three to five years, but which moved very quickly,” Anderson said.

Anderson emphasized that public education will always be important to her, as she said school was “the one thing I could count on for routine and support” throughout her childhood, and highlighted her experience as an educational assistant and her involvement with the parent-teacher organizations at Santa Fe Public Schools.

“If there’s anything I don’t want to leave unsaid in my time on the school board, it is my strong belief that there is not a single bad school in our district,” Anderson said. “My children have attended exclusively Title I schools while in Santa Fe Public Schools, and their classrooms have been laboratories of learning and exploration, led by exceptional educators. Children are innate learners and will rise to any occasion, so long as we ensure their basic needs are met and they have the support they need.”

Anderson also noted her hope that the school district continues to work on solving inequality within the schools, and says she looks forward to seeing the district partner with the city and affordable housing initiatives to “make Santa Fe more family and child-friendly” and ensure teachers can afford to live in Santa Fe.

“There is much more work to do, and I am truly heartbroken that I won’t be here to have a role in it,” Anderson said.

Board members Kate Noble and Sarah Boses thanked Anderson for her time on the board and wished her luck.

“I don’t know if there was blood, but I know there was sweat and tears in the Santa Fe Public Schools,” Noble said.

According to SFPS General Counsel Josh Granata, once Anderson submits her letter of resignation, the school board will have 45 days to appoint a new board member. If the board does not fill the vacancy by then, Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham will instead make the appointment.

Anderson’s resignation from the board will be accepted at the school board’s next meeting, which is currently set for 5:30 pm, July 25.

The board member to replace Anderson is required to live in the district she represents—in this case, District 5, which encompasses the majority of the Midtown area in Santa Fe. The board can choose to appoint a new board member at one of its meetings or at a special meeting to interview applicants and then vote for the member they prefer. The board member who replaces Anderson will run for re-election at the next school board election, which for District 5′s seat will be in 2025.

The last time the school board appointed one of its board members was in 2022, where the board appointed Roman “Tiger” Abeyta to replace then-representative Rudy Garcia, who retired for health reasons.

Noble suggested that the board allocate one of the two meetings in the summer or call a special meeting so that “we and the community can hear from anyone who is interested in being appointed to the position.”

“I’ve been incredibly lucky to serve with smart, hard-working and insightful fellow board members who may not always agree—though we often do—but who maintain professionalism and collaboration always,” Anderson said. “There is so much work beyond my imagination that this board can do to move Santa Fe Public Schools forward.”