Post by gatordog on May 18, 2010 7:43:54 GMT -5
D204 approves 'Plan C' for music
May 18, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
Despite the high cost of the student fee – which one board member noted was equivalent to the price of a graphing calculator required for some courses – Indian Prairie District 204 officials approved the proposed “Plan C” for middle school music technique classes.
“The fee is abysmal. It’s bad on a number of levels. We’re charging a fee for a curricular class, which is problematic. It’s a big fee, that’s problematic,” board member Mark Metzger said. “… Right now, what I believe we’re doing with that fee, as bad as it is, is we’re giving those parents the same opportunity we’re giving the athletic parents and everybody else, is the chance to let their kids participate out of their own pocketbooks.”
In a 5-2 vote, the board approved Plan C, which calls for each student involved in instrumental activity to pay a $108 fee to help fund the cost of bringing back some of the music staff members that previously had been laid off. Doing so increases the technique class instruction that was cut under the earlier proposals.
“Plan C is absolutely not perfect. It’s not perfect. But it’s the best we can do with the collaboration of the administration and the music leaders of this district,” board member Dawn DeSart said.
Voting to adopt the plan were board President Curt Bradshaw, DeSart, Metzger, Sue Rasmus and Christine Vickers. Voting against the motion were Cathy Piehl and Alka Tyle.
“It’s not about music. It’s just about resources,” Tyle said. “We all love music. We have kids in music.”
She said the district is introducing a new model to pay for teachers’ salaries.
“It’s one thing to charge $20 for equipment or classroom materials. It’s another thing to say this fee is going to pay a teacher’s salary,” she said.
The plan reduces the number of music teachers laid off to nine from the original 19 proposed two months ago as part of the district’s effort to trim $12.2 million from its 2011 budget to make up for anticipated state funding cuts. The district proposed eliminating middle school technique classes and laying off 19 music teachers earlier this year, but public outcry led officials to look for other options.
During the hour-long debate Monday night, all of the board members expressed concern about the $108 fee. Rasmus noted other fees have been increased for next year as well.
“We just keep feeding and feeding and feeding,” Rasmus said. “There comes a point where is it just too much?”
Piehl said the fee is so high it might deter students from participating. If not enough students register, then the amount of money generated by the fee could be lower than expected.
“If you don’t have that fee, it is not self-sustaining it is actually going to cost us money,” she said.
She said the plan was almost “back-door hiring” of staff that the district might not have hired back based on the needs of students.
“I want all of our hiring and re-hiring to be based on our students needs, not because we want a Grammy award-winning program,” Piehl said.
Both Piehl and Tyle voiced concerns about taking students out of core curriculum classes for the music technique instruction, but Metzger said that is a discussion for a later time.
“This is about budget, this is not about curriculum,” he said.
After the board approved Plan C, Metzger made a motion to have district administrators begin a review of middle school technique courses, including the practice of pulling students out of other classes for the instruction. The motion passed 6-1, with DeSart casting the opposing vote.
“Let’s start the policy-written process,” Metzger said.
May 18, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
Despite the high cost of the student fee – which one board member noted was equivalent to the price of a graphing calculator required for some courses – Indian Prairie District 204 officials approved the proposed “Plan C” for middle school music technique classes.
“The fee is abysmal. It’s bad on a number of levels. We’re charging a fee for a curricular class, which is problematic. It’s a big fee, that’s problematic,” board member Mark Metzger said. “… Right now, what I believe we’re doing with that fee, as bad as it is, is we’re giving those parents the same opportunity we’re giving the athletic parents and everybody else, is the chance to let their kids participate out of their own pocketbooks.”
In a 5-2 vote, the board approved Plan C, which calls for each student involved in instrumental activity to pay a $108 fee to help fund the cost of bringing back some of the music staff members that previously had been laid off. Doing so increases the technique class instruction that was cut under the earlier proposals.
“Plan C is absolutely not perfect. It’s not perfect. But it’s the best we can do with the collaboration of the administration and the music leaders of this district,” board member Dawn DeSart said.
Voting to adopt the plan were board President Curt Bradshaw, DeSart, Metzger, Sue Rasmus and Christine Vickers. Voting against the motion were Cathy Piehl and Alka Tyle.
“It’s not about music. It’s just about resources,” Tyle said. “We all love music. We have kids in music.”
She said the district is introducing a new model to pay for teachers’ salaries.
“It’s one thing to charge $20 for equipment or classroom materials. It’s another thing to say this fee is going to pay a teacher’s salary,” she said.
The plan reduces the number of music teachers laid off to nine from the original 19 proposed two months ago as part of the district’s effort to trim $12.2 million from its 2011 budget to make up for anticipated state funding cuts. The district proposed eliminating middle school technique classes and laying off 19 music teachers earlier this year, but public outcry led officials to look for other options.
During the hour-long debate Monday night, all of the board members expressed concern about the $108 fee. Rasmus noted other fees have been increased for next year as well.
“We just keep feeding and feeding and feeding,” Rasmus said. “There comes a point where is it just too much?”
Piehl said the fee is so high it might deter students from participating. If not enough students register, then the amount of money generated by the fee could be lower than expected.
“If you don’t have that fee, it is not self-sustaining it is actually going to cost us money,” she said.
She said the plan was almost “back-door hiring” of staff that the district might not have hired back based on the needs of students.
“I want all of our hiring and re-hiring to be based on our students needs, not because we want a Grammy award-winning program,” Piehl said.
Both Piehl and Tyle voiced concerns about taking students out of core curriculum classes for the music technique instruction, but Metzger said that is a discussion for a later time.
“This is about budget, this is not about curriculum,” he said.
After the board approved Plan C, Metzger made a motion to have district administrators begin a review of middle school technique courses, including the practice of pulling students out of other classes for the instruction. The motion passed 6-1, with DeSart casting the opposing vote.
“Let’s start the policy-written process,” Metzger said.