*** Please post and circulate widely ***
ACTION MEETING To Save Music in Our Schools
Hosted by Beaverton Friends of Music
*Monday* July 1st & July 8th • 7-8:30pm
Fire Station 65 (3425 SW 103rd Ave, 97007)
This week Beaverton School District announced severe and unexpected cuts to music programs at 3 of our 8 neighborhood middle schools. This is happening after months of public budget meetings where specific cuts to music were never mentioned. It is a complete surprise with no plan in place to restore the programs.
While the district administration and school board are aware our community expects daily band and choir available to every student at all middle schools, we’re now going from 6 of 8 middle schools with daily band to 3 of 8 with daily band, and we’re going from 2 of 8 middle schools with daily choir down to only 1 with daily choir. Three of our middle schools still have absolutely NO CHOIR offered. The other significant cut is the district Fine Arts coordinator position — essential to program oversight and support, especially in dramatic situations like this. We’ve been asking for years for this position to be made a full administrator and it’s been cut in half. Right now, music directors are being transferred around as they’re bumped from their positions. Making matters more confusing, there will be music staffing increases at 2 of the schools that are not experiencing cuts. This doesn’t make sense.
Random cuts like this took place around the district in 2012 and then again in 2015 at Mountain View. After that cut, the Mountain View community worked tirelessly for 4 years to see their director returned to full-time. This year, it’s finally happened, but the bottom is now falling out at 3 other schools including Whitford, where 30% of students were enrolled in band last year. You heard that right – the district is *adding* music staff at some schools while taking it away at others. Which kids win and which kids lose? It all depends on where they happen to live. This is not equitable.
Beaverton Friends of Music has spent the last 7 years working with every level of district administration and the School Board to communicate our values and offer solutions to the inequity in the existing music programs. This week’s senseless cuts prove the problem is being systematically ignored. District leaders must be held accountable by our community. No more excuses. No more waiting. No more stealing music education from our kids. We are invested in our schools, and we expect Leadership.
Time is of the essence – we must act quickly to fix this situation before kids start losing out and permanent damage is done to our schools. Due to the July 4th holiday, BFoM is planning two action meetings in hopes of reaching the largest number of people on short notice. Please plan to attend one or both meetings, and please share this message with 2 friends:
ACTION MEETING To Save Music in Our Schools
Hosted by Beaverton Friends of Music
*Monday* July 1st & July 8th • 7-8:30pm
Fire Station 65 (3425 SW 103rd Ave, 97007)
Learn more at www.beavertonfriendsofmusic.org