A SLO County high school quietly cut its choir program. Why?
Gina Dattilo, a former teacher at Arroyo Grande High School, learned her choir classes were going to be cut when students began coming into her classroom asking questions, upset that they couldn’t register for the next year.
The news came in April, shortly before spring break and Dattilo’s wedding.
“They were coming to me and asking me if I knew anything, and I said ‘No,’” she told The Tribune.
The last she had heard from administrators, the choir program was on its way to another year of survival. After she heard it from her students, she reached out to the counseling office, which confirmed that it had been directed by administrators not to offer choir courses.
“They were actually pretty upset for me because they thought that I had already known,” she said. “The counselor who I talked to actually said, ‘Oh my gosh, I never would’ve started telling kids this if you didn’t know.’”
When Dattilo met with her vice principal, she received the official word — her choir and piano classes were being cut because the courses hadn’t met the enrollment numbers required to continue.
District says it is ‘rebuilding’ choir program
District spokesperson Amy Jacobs told The Tribune in an email that only four students had signed up for choir for the 2025-26 school year at the time the cuts were made. Because of that, the district is “rebuilding” the program.
The high school intends to establish a choir club at the high school to generate interest.
“The hope is that the club will attract more students and allow choir to become a formal class once again,” Jacobs said.
Dattilo estimated that at least 10 of her returning students had expressed interest to her about joining choir, and several had said their friends were interested, too.
At least 17 students were enrolled in the program last year, Dattilo said. She never got to see the numbers that got her classes cut.
Arroyo Grande High School’s choir was the only high school choir program in the district, Nipomo High School theater teacher Cadence Mitchell told The Tribune.
Nipomo’s choir program was cut several years ago, which had a ripple effect on the theater department, since choir classes help train students’ musical performance skills.
“Now to hear that the only choir program in our entire district is being cut is very disheartening,” she said.
Mitchell added that arts education adds value to the community.
“Visual and performing arts is meant to create students who have confidence in themselves, students who can talk to people, students who are able to introduce themselves at a party to a stranger and feel OK in how to approach someone,” she told The Tribune. “We’re just building life skills that you just don’t get within the regular class. ... When you start cutting dance, when you start cutting choir, when you’re limiting band, when you cut theater, everyone loses out. It’s not just the students.”
Dattilo said she heard disappointment about the cuts from other teachers, students and community members.
“Basically, everyone I talked to about it was upset about it,” she added.
Jacobs said the district values music education and the value it brings to students’ lives. She added that the district is constantly juggling courses and offerings, and choir didn’t have the necessary interest to warrant a class.
“We regularly explore options such as combining levels, rotating offerings, or co-curricular vocal ensembles, though those aren’t always feasible,” she wrote. “If demand increases in the next cycle and staffing allows, we will schedule choir again.”
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