By senior correspondent Devon Maloney
Superintendent Jack Dale has proposed everything from class size increases to ending the purchases of new buses to solve Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) sweeping budget problem. The total proposed cuts would save the county a total of about $114 million. One of these cuts eliminates the elementary band and strings program; a move which would save the county an estimated seven million dollars.
Orchestra director Catherine Prosser is fighting to save the elementary music programs, as she feels that students will not learn to play instruments without these programs.
"Most students begin playing an instrument in elementary school, if they play at all," Prosser said. "You have a small handful that starts at a young age, but the majority begins their instruction in elementary school."
Orchestra members are also against the cut.
"This cut would severely affect the entire orchestra program-starting at the middle school orchestra, then eventually the high school and college orchestras," senior Camille Lorenzana, a violinist in advanced orchestra, said. "I know it’s only affecting fourth, fifth and sixth graders, [but over time] it will really affect the whole chain of musicians."
Without the opportunity to start playing in a band or orchestra until middle school, Prosser worries that taking up an instrument in middle school will not bring in as many students as it does currently in elementary school as music is "just not going to have the same appeal."
Looking at other school districts that have made similar cuts, Prosser said, 65% percent of students that would have otherwise joined the band or orchestra are lost to other activities.
Although the cuts would not immediately affect Marshall’s music program, the band and orchestra predict to see decreased participation if the cut is implemented, Prosser said.
The orchestra currently has about 60 members. Considering the 65% decrease reported by other school districts, the orchestra program would be left with around 21 musicians.
"We would have to go down to one orchestra class, and that would be devastating," Prosser said.
But Prosser hopes that community outcry can save the elementary school programs.
"We encourage students to get involved [in the protests]," Prosser said. "There are many different meetings and things going on in the area [to get involved in the discussion]. I give the parents the information and hope that they encourage [their kids] to get involved."
Prosser is also one of the teacher sponsors of Marshall’s music honor society, Tri-M, which has gotten very involved in protesting the proposed elementary band and orchestra elimination by going to rallies.
"We’ve gotten involved with this by wearing our music t-shirts and bringing signs, rallying outside the buildings where the county’s board meetings occur," senior Yura Kim, the Tri-M president, said. "We’ve also emailed and called their hotlines to let them know that this budget cut would be a huge mistake."
The most recent protests include last night’s rally at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church. There will also be protests held tonight and tomorrow night also at Jackson at six and five o’clock, respectively.
Despite the possibility of multiple cuts, Dale hopes to maintain the FCPS music program’s "high student achievement and excellence."
Kilmer Middle School’s assistant band director, Emily Morgan, agrees that FCPS has "long been regarded nationally as a leader in music education, preparing students to attend the most prestigious music school and conservatories in the world."
However, Morgan points out that the potential cuts would "destroy [the] county’s reputation and caliber of [its] middle and high school ensembles."
Posts
