August 5, 2009

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Renton SD Elementary Band, Orchestra Supporters Seek Collaboration, Restoration of Program

With an anticipated August approval of the current Renton School District's proposed budget, a growing contingent of parents, teachers and community supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with what is perceived as an unresponsive board.

On the chopping block is the Fifth Grade Band and Orchestra Program, and supporters are passionate about keeping the program intact.

In fact, over 900 parents, teachers and community supporters have signed petitions urging the School District to reverse its decision to cut the program and adopt an alternative option a parent / teacher committee carefully crafted.

Program supporters include parents from secondary schools whose children have benefited from the program at the elementary level. According to Renton School District parent Carrie Wong, elementary parents have not been in the loop to date and would significantly add to the 900-person supporter list.

"We have not even touched the surface of parents and music supporters in the elementary schools - most of the efforts and support have been from parents at the secondary level," said Wong.

At issue from the Music Programs' supporters' perspective is a perceived lack of collaboration to find a satisfactory solution focused on retaining the program.

Word of Cuts Spreads Slowly

The Renton School District (RSD) began the budget crunching earlier this year. That process included seeking input both from staff and the public. "We started the budget process in February or March and asked for community and staff input. I don't know that we were much different from other school districts," said RSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Susan Mather.

In April, the Renton School District took that budget work and presented it at four public meetings. Proposed program cuts were presented at those meetings, but according to RSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Susan Mather, attendance was very low.

"I did not attend the community meetings, but I do know that they were poorly attended," said Mather.

The District also provided an online survey that sought the public's input. According to RSD parent Kristina Yuen, the survey was difficult to answer and continued to omit information about the elimination of the Elementary Band and Orchestra programs.

This perceived lack of communication about the threatened program has created a growing lack of trust for supporters. "This has created a sense of distrust," said Yuen. "Kent and Bellevue (school districts) opened up discussions early on."

Grass Roots Work Begins

The concerned parents, teachers and supporters began to pick up speed mid-May, spreading the word about the threatened program. On May 13, students and parents began to appear at every School Board Meeting to testify in favor of retaining the Elementary Band and Orchestra programs.

In June, these supporters continued to testify at Board meetings. In response, Superintendent Dr. Mary Alice Hueschel met with supporters Ray Kusumi and Carrie Wong in mid-June, asking them to develop a proposal focused on saving the program. In support of this work, a group of supporters met at Hazen High School to develop this proposal.

One month later, on July 15, the group submitted its proposal to the Renton School Board Members. Unfortunately, on that same day, a sense of discord is felt because of a comment made by RSD Board President Al Talley.

"President Al Talley remarks that no one is providing a detailed proposal, only complaining and comparing districts. It is generally assumed that he was under time constraints and unable to peruse the proposal before the meeting," said Yuen.

An additional meeting is held on July 21 with instrumental teachers, general music teachers and School District officials, including Dr. Mather. Following these two meetings it was reported that the District was validating the data submitted July 15 to see if the proposal could be financially feasible.

Today

This first week of August signals a final countdown before the RSD School Board must finalize its budget at either its August 12 or August 26 meeting. Prior to these Board meetings, supporter representatives Kusumi and Wong are scheduled to meet in a small committee meeting with District representatives on August 7.

The core of the July 15 proposal is focused on allowing band and orchestra students to opt out of the General Music class currently mandated by the State and attend a specialized music class (band or orchestra) during that same hour. The concept behind this approach is fashioned after the program developed by the Kent School District. Kids would not be pulled from traditional instructional time to attend these classes as the program currently exists.

According to Kusumi, the proposal could save the District up to 2.0 FTE (full time employees), depending on how many elementary schools implement it.

Preliminary reports of the feasibility of the proposal submitted are gloomy, however. According to Dr. Mather, the logistics of the program wouldn't generate the 2.0 FTE savings because the District is committed to equity in its schools. If one school offers the program, all must offer the program to its students. If students are offered this option, it could impact each school's master schedule and personnel would be impacted.

"It's more complex than that (adding the optional class)," said Mather. "If one school needs the teacher for a 45-minute period, two times a week and another school needs that teacher during that same time, you need to hire staff," said Mather. Mather also said this change of schedule could also impact common planning times for teachers, staffing for PE and library staff, which results in a cost issue, adding to the budget.

"We're looking at other more efficient and feasible options," said Mather. One of the options being examined is a before or after-school program. This option, however, could include prohibitive costs because the District would need to supply busing for the program. She explained that over 50 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunches, and the impact of providing other supporting services (equity issues) must be considered.

Mather said the District is in a difficult position because the District is committed to maintaining core general educational instruction, and it must not be affected. Optional programs, therefore, are impacted. "We don't offer many optional programs at the elementary level. We don't offer programs such as theatre or drama, so the list of options are limited," said Mather. According to Mather, band and orchestra are the few optional programs available at the elementary level.

At the secondary level, the optional programs list is longer. "At that level, we eliminated the C team for sports and athletic coordinators were eliminated," said Mather.

Valued Program?

Throughout this process, Elementary Band and Orchestra Program supporters have been disappointed with the lack of communication, collaboration, and time spent with the community to find a solution to save this program. Supporters have expressed a sense of distrust because of the process. They also feel the District is overlooking the value of the program. They say that the research is clear that a strong elementary band and orchestra program reinforces a strong educational program and therefore, is worth saving.

"Research indicates that a strong music program at this level is linked to higher test levels and higher graduation numbers," said Yuen.

"There hasn't been a lot of dialogue," said Yuen. "The problem is when there is a time crunch, there is not enough time to mobilize and work out the bugs. When the August 7 meeting is scheduled just five days before the Board meeting, it makes it look like they are not taking it seriously and engaging in a dialogue with us. It's coming across as a low priority."

Updates Coming

Stay tuned. We'll update you as we receive more information.