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EAST GRAND FORKS: Parents, Students Object to Music Program Cuts: School District Seeks Budget Balance

Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Paulette Tobin, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Mar. 10--About 200 people packed a special meeting Thursday of the East Grand Forks School Board, many of them asking the board to reject proposed cuts to music programs, including the elimination of a Central Middle School choral instructor.

Senior High School's library was standing room only for the two-hour meeting about the district's need to cut $1 million from the 2006-2007 budget. The budget this year is about $15 million.

"Cuts are needed, but it should be equal pain across the board," said Gary Jones, who had put together a handout including pie charts that he said indicated music programs were taking the lion's share of cuts in extracurriculars.

School District athletic director Jim Scanlan said he didn't want decisions about budget cuts to pit athletics against the fine arts. He said he had found an $8,500 line item in the athletic budget that could be used to pay for the middle school musical next year.

Among the proposals for next year are cutting the middle school and high school musicals, eliminating cheerleading, skating, two middle school football coaches, one high school football coach, one middle school basketball coach and $29,000 in supplies, plus increasing fees by $4,500.

Teacher's defense

Another proposal would eliminate Central Middle School music teacher Annette Hovey and have Senior High choir instructor Shelley Bares and perhaps another music teacher fill in at the middle school.

Many who testified at the meeting said eliminating the middle school choir teacher would hurt students at the middle school and the high school.

"If you cut Mrs. Hovey's position, you will be eliminating one of the most successful teachers in your district," Tom O'Neil said.

Among the dozen or so students who spoke, several thanked Hovey for the positive effect she'd had on their lives. Students and parents said eliminating Hovey would mean less music time for high school students and spread Bares' time with them too thin.

The board also is considering not replacing two classroom teachers and a librarian for the two elementary schools, reducing the full-time librarian position at the middle school to half-time, and eliminating German from the curriculum. People spoke against those cuts, too. Eliminating positions at the high school and in custodial staff, cutting supplies and putting off the purchase of new textbooks also are being considered.

More meetings

Bob Kovar said he was concerned about cutting teachers and increasing class sizes when schools were under so much pressure to show their students were meeting testing standards.

"It's not like the old days where everyone learned the same thing, and if you learned, you learned, and if you didn't, you didn't," Kovar said. Others worried that cuts would cause students to go to other schools.

There also were suggestions on ways to save money, including pursuing more grants, working with college students in the direction and production of school musicals and cutting insurance benefits for administrators.

Board members didn't make any decisions about cuts Thursday, nor will they at Monday night's regular board meeting. Board President Sue Black said there would be another special meeting to discuss the budget.

Tobin reports on education, teen news and special events. Reach her at (701) 780-1134; (800) 477-6572, ext. 134; or ptobin@gfherald.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

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Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

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