A CLOSER LOOK

The debate over the Windham-Raymond school budget continues next week when the school board meets Wednesday, April 8, at the Windham Town Council Chambers for another public hearing.

After hearing from hundreds of parents and former students about the value of music education, Windham-Raymond school officials are considering ways to put back in next year’s budget a middle school music program.

As more than 200 residents packed the Windham Town Council Chambers for a public hearing on the school budget Wednesday night, the crowd spilling into the hallway and filling an auxiliary room, Windham Middle School Principal Hal Shortsleeve told the School Board he and his staff were exploring just how to restore the program at some level. An initial plan, he said, keeps a three-fifths teaching position at the middle school, whereas the original budget cut completely the two music teachers at the school.

“We should do what we can to make it work, within reason,” said Shortsleeve, who cut the program from his initial budget under an order to slice $175,000, moving the music program after school.

In the two weeks since the budget was announced, supporters of the music program have banded together to show school officials how important it is to the people of Windham, bombarding board members with e-mails and phone calls. They showed up en masse Wednesday night, as well, taking turns at the podium to explain how music education expands the mind, teaches leadership and teamwork, and provides a unique opportunity to many students.

Residents at the hearing were also upset at budget cuts that eliminate the industrial technology program at the high school, as well as at a plan to move the middle school life skills program to the high school. Some people also spoke in favor of instituting an all-day kindergarten program at Windham Primary School, the focus of a presentation before the hearing by Principal Kyle Rhoads.

But it was the music program that took center stage. After two-plus hours of testimony on the value of music education, and the pride the Windham community has in its performers, three School Board members – Toby Pennels, Kane Loukas and Catriona Sangster – said they supported placing the program in some form back in the budget.

After the meeting, Pennels said the board had to consider the budget as a whole, and they are just starting to wrap their minds around all the implications and changes detailed in the budget. Curriculum Director Chris Howell is working with music teachers, including Rick Nickerson, to evaluate the district’s K-12 music program to make sure it makes the best use of the time and talent available. After the board sees that plan, Pennels said, it will be easier to see how the program fits into the district’s budget, and its plan for education.

“I want music at the middle school. I don’t know exactly what that is going to look like,” Pennels said.

But another board member, Mike Mack, said the board cannot simply react to the public response, especially when community members who do not want a tax increase under any circumstance may stay silent. Programs like music have a loyal and passionate following that guarantees a strong response, one that perhaps distorts their value, he said. But in the end, the value of the music program has to be considered against many other facets of education, he said.

“English or math might not get that response (if they were cut). We can’t just listen to the volume of public opinion,” Mack said.

There was no question of the value of music education to those at Wednesday’s hearing, however. The music program, said resident after resident, gives students a rounded education, spurs creativity and teamwork, and gives the community a sense of pride and achievement.

Owen Sinclair, a former Windham student who plays with the renowned Chamber Singers, said the community’s support for the arts is unique, and creates an atmosphere at the school conducive to learning and creativity. The support puts music on par with athletics, and pulls together students from those activities that might not otherwise interact.

“Without the support of a solid music program, that community togetherness will be lost,” he said.

Ben Robinson, a sophomore at Windham High School, said music is as critical to education as math or science. Having it in school, he said, ensures that students will at least get a taste of what music can bring to their lives, and perhaps much more.

“How many young people will not know they have a talent for performing arts?” he said.

Residents also stepped forward to support the implementation of all-day kindergarten. During his presentation, Rhoads said both independent studies and his own experience show that students who go through a full-day schedule achieve better testing results and show more socialization skills than students who complete a half-day program. It would cost $128,681 to add the full-day kindergarten, he said, but savings could be realized through decreased transportation costs and rising meal revenue. The school could expect lower numbers of discipline problems as well, Rhoads said.

Many of the residents agreed. Michelle Jordan, who has a son in kindergarten at Windham Primary School this year, said she is amazed by the teachers there, and at how much her son is learning.

“I can only imagine how much more these teachers could do with him and his fellow students if they had all day,” she said.

Residents also spoke out against the elimination of the high school industrial technology program. Scott Gordon of Windham Mill Work said the program provides “sought-after skills” to students who can use them to find a solid job after high school.

“These are kids that don’t necessarily have college plans. These are kids that need skills for when they get out of high school,” he said.

Windham Middle School Principal Hal Shortsleeve lets the crowd know he and staff are working on a plan to restore the music program into next year’s budget. Shortsleeve spoke at a public hearing Wednesday in Windham concerning the Windham-Raymond school budget.