Parents outraged after SLO County school district suggests gutting music budget
Buried within a long list of $5 million worth of budget cuts proposed by the San Luis Coastal school district is one small line item that’s sending waves of emotion through affected parents and students.
The controversial proposal was originally listed on budget documents as a $150,000 cut to the budget for musical instruments. It has since been reduced to $100,000, according to the district.
The document described the targeted funding as “district contribution to music programs currently used for instruments, field trips, etc.”
But according to district parent Maeve Holden, that label didn’t tell the whole story.
“That was actually our entire music budget,” Holden said of the original $150,000 proposal. “That was all the support for the students and for the music program, for choir, and that’s for elementary, middle and high school. So it’s the whole program.”
The proposed cuts don’t include staff jobs or salaries, and the district said it does not intend to eliminate music classes.
District assistant superintendent of business services Ryan Pinkerton confirmed that the proposed cut represents most of the other district-provided funding for music programs.
“We pledge to meet with each program/teacher and review needs/wants and do what is needed to make sure our programs continue to thrive,” he said.
What would a $100,000 cut mean for SLO music programs?
The Tribune reached out to Pinkerton to clarify the suggested cut, and he confirmed that it did represent the majority of district-allocated funding for music operations across all school sites.
If the cuts are approved, school sites would have to share the remaining $50,000 in district funds to pay for things like piano tuning, instrument repair, performance venue rentals and travel.
Otherwise, school music programs may need to rethink some of their operations to absorb the cuts.
“It is meaningful to those programs and would mean potentially changing some of the things that they have been able to do,” Pinkerton wrote to The Tribune in an email. “For example, the programs rent the Cal Poly PAC out for performances, which costs a few thousand dollars for each performance. They may need to perform on site or have multiple performances with a smaller venue. Some of the trips or student gatherings may also need to be reconsidered.”
Pinkerton added that schools could consider rearranging their own budgets to allocate more money to music.
The proposed cuts also don’t include money from Proposition 28, an initiative that provides additional arts funding to schools across California. Pinkerton said school sites may be able to use some Prop. 28 funding or fundraised money to help fill the hole.
“The $100,000 represents 1% of our $10 million in reductions,” Pinkerton added, referring to the $5 million in cuts approved last school year and the $5 million in proposed cuts this year as a result of the district’s structural budget deficit.
Parents say cuts could hurt fine arts, students
While $100,000 pales in comparison to the millions the district plans to cut through layoffs to classroom teachers, counselors and aides, the money is a valuable resource to an already underfunded arts program.
“Max’s music teacher already fixes as many as the instruments as he can,” Holden told The Tribune. “He’s already working extra and ... buying reeds for the saxophones out of his own pocket. ... We’re already, barely, kind of busting out of the budget we have.”
The SLO Instrumental Music Boosters Association, which supports music programs at SLO High School and Laguna Middle School, drafted a letter opposing the cuts, which was further shared by the San Luis Coastal Parent Information Network.
The letter said the proposed cuts threatened the stability and sustainability of the music programs moving forward.
“Music education is not extra, it’s essential,” club president Kait Diringer said in the letter. “Our programs bring together students from all backgrounds to share something meaningful and lasting. Cuts of this scale jeopardize the heart of what makes our schools strong. For many of our students, these programs make the difference on having positive outcomes in their lives, both inside and outside the classroom.”
The letter also urged community members to lobby PG&E for funding to make up for the unitary tax the district lost due to the depreciation of Diablo Canyon.
The San Luis Coastal school board is set to discuss the impending cuts at a school board meeting Tuesday — the same night as a scheduled band concert, meaning band students and teachers won’t be able to show up to advocate for their program.
Holden encouraged others to show up at the meeting in support of those who won’t be able to attend.
“We just need community members to go and speak their mind and let the board know how important this is for the students,” she told The Tribune emotionally. “This is one of the last things that they have.”
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