We are having major cuts in Missouri also.  So far there is no talk of cutting music in our district.  I am also tenured and have 19 years experience.  About 5 years ago I took our state test to get my certificate in 1-6 Elementary Education.  So if music is ever cut, our district would have to put me in a classroom spot now occupied by a non-tenured teacher.  If that is something you would be interested in I would investigate it if I were you.  Schools will never get rid of all of the classroom teachers, so I feel pretty safe.

 

S Quinn

Mid-Missouri

Hi, Peter.  A few comments from different sources.

 

My parents were public school teachers (music plus foreign language plus audio-visual) from the late '20s through the '60s, and they had to fight this fight every day throughout their careers.  In Washington state I'm not sure what percentage came from the state, but they were most concerned with the school bond issues which had to be approved by LOCAL voters and, in a twist that may have been unique to Washinton, had to be passed with a voter turnout that was a certain percentage of the last general election!  So it was as much a get-out-the-vote campaign as it was a campaign to support local schools.

 

But if you're only getting cut by 15% and only losing $8 million, you're actually better off than we are here in Virginia.  While I hate to bring politics into the discussion, in this case it can't be avoided, because we have a newly-elected Governor and a lower house that are both die-hard, anti-tax Republicans.  And while we in higher education have faced state budget cutbacks for at least the past decade, THIS legislature and Governor are determined to gut Virginia's K-12 schools completely.  Roanoke is a large small town, but this morning's paper said that their School District is looking at a MINIMUM loss of $4 million for next year, and possibly as much as $14 or $16 million.  This university is trying to deal with about a $25 million loss of funding.  So there ARE going to be layoffs and there ARE going to be cutbacks.  They say the electorate gets the government it deserves; well, that's what we've got!!!

However, the same article said that the Roanoke School Board is seriously looking into suing the state, because there is in Virginia a constitutional requirement that the state establish and maintain "a high-quality program of education," and the state has failed to hold up its end of that requirement for years, if not decades.

So the bottom line is that you aren't alone, and you're going to have to fight in the trenches just as public school educators have had to for decades, and we might all lose this round until we can vote the idiots out of office.  But IT'S WORTH THE FIGHT!!!  Check your own state constitution, and let the idiots know in no uncertain terms that they ARE idiots and that the voters are watching them.  When ideology trumps common sense, nobody ever wins.

All the best,

John


 

Here is a Power Point presentation that was done by the Florida Music Education Association.  http://www.flmusiced.org/dnn/Advocacy/tabid/78/Default.aspx

Two weeks ago I did small survey at my school.  After school, track was running laps, baseball was on the diamind, lacrosse was at the stadium, band was rehearsing for their upcoming trip to Disney World, theatre was rehearsing for the musical in the auditorium, and the cheerleaders were preparing for a game.  I asked 10 students what their GPA was, and the average was 3.6.  I asked them if they liked coming to school, and all of them answered, "Yes."  I went across the street to the Conoco station where another group of students was hanging out, listening to a thumping car stereo, and smoking.  I asked 10 students what their GPA was.  Five did not know what it was, and the other five averaged a 2.2.  All of them hated school.  I would bet my life savings that if our athletics and arts programs were eliminated the number of students on the other side of the street smoking and getting bad grades would increase.  The bottom line is that kids do not come to school because they feel the need to learn stuff.  They do it because it is fun, and the arts is a fun way to learn.

 

I will now step down from my soapbox.

Scott Wickham