Calendar

Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

Middle-schoolers plead with board to save the music

By Clare Jensen

Tacoma Weekly
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: May 29, 2008

Truman Middle School’s music program could be in danger, but the young musicians in question aren’t going down without a fight.

After public budget information sessions for Tacoma School District May 20 and 21, and word circulating that Truman’s music program would be cut, dozens of Truman music students and their parents came out to speak up about the issue at hand in front of the school board May 22.

While district officials and Truman Principal Pat Robinson say that a scaled-back music program will remain, it appears that was not enough for the Truman public.

Truman has band and orchestra classes, and the proposed cut would eliminate at least one section of orchestra as well as beloved orchestra instructor Courtney Shelton.

Truman band instructor David Cripe would then be responsible  for teaching a period containing beginning, intermediate and advanced orchestra students in addition to his already large student load.

And while parents and students agreed that Cripe is a capable teacher, he does not specialize in orchestra, which leaves room for concern among the Truman strings population.

“How is a band teacher who doesn’t know how to play cello going to teach my son how to play the cello?” asked Tony Daniels, parent of sixth-grader Cullen who has emerged as a passionate cellist in the last year at Truman.

Daniels noted that the passion he sees in his son for the orchestra is due largely to the impact of Shelton.

And many other students agreed that their orchestra instructor is one of the reasons they excel in music.

“Save the orchestra and keep Ms. Shelton. I don’t care how you do it—just do it,” Daniels said.

One of the reasons for the proposed cut is due to decreasing enrollment district wide, and at Truman.

Laura Henrickson, mother of three Truman students, noted that while school enrollment may be going down, student enrollment in band and orchestra classes is going up.

Two advanced orchestra students, sisters who both attend Truman, suggested that keeping a full orchestra and band program could be a magnet to increase enrollment for a district facing a budget crisis.

“If enrollment is going down, wouldn’t you want something other schools don’t have, like a good music program?” asked one of the middle school sisters.

Robinson agrees that having Cripe teach a class of beginning, intermediate and advanced orchestra students “would be a very difficult thing to do.”

She said she believes the district is trying their best to retain the staff at Truman.

“I’m just really hopeful that this will work out and we get our programs back.”

After the public comment portion of the May 22 meeting, board members agreed they would do everything they could to address the issue.

“This is a situation where we need to remember that the students are first,” board member Kim Golding said.

Future superintendent Art Jarvis said that 87 percent of the budget is going toward staff salaries, and that “certain decisions were made at the school level in terms of staffing.”

He agreed with the board and said, “We cannot narrow the curriculum.”

It is anticipated that the board will make a determination regarding the district budget by July.

Story Tools

This Week's
Front Page