Bristol Township School District To Silence Music Program

The Bristol Township School Board had their hands full Monday night when they asked for questions and comments from residents. Tempers flared and emotions poured out in the Benjamin Franklin Freshman Academy auditorium.

The subject that riled up the crowd? The decision to eliminate music teachers in the 2011-2012 budget. 

Members of the Truman High School band and peers from various schools music classes united in a rallied plea to the school board to reconsider drastic cuts to the music department.

The current proposed budget, with a deadline for approval in early June, will cut the music department by a minimum of three music teachers. The cuts, while saving the budget $255,000, will all but eliminate pre-5 grade music department.

“These cuts will not only eliminate students' musical abilities, but also greatly hinder their academic performance,” Bristol Township School District student Jessica Goodman said.

Goodman's statement may not be far from the truth. According to a 2001 national report from College Board, for each year a student participated in musical instruction, their SAT scores increased drastically. For a student with four years or more of music background, College Board's report indicates their SAT scores were 13 percent higher than those without musical instruction.

A 2001 Truman High School graduate and professional trumpet player, Dan Wright, came out in support of the district's music department -- one that, according to Wright, helped mold him into the success he is now.

"I would have never preformed at the Taj Mahal if it wasn't for this district's music program. I likely wouldn't have gone to college, maybe not even finish high school,” Wright said.

The decision to eliminate the elementary music teachers has left some with a sour taste in their mouths.

“I'll gladly take one for the team, but everybody needs to take one for the team as well. We need an even distribution of cuts, don't place the burden all on (a single department),” said Joe Marlow, a music teacher from Neil Armstrong Middle School.

Marlow suggested to the school board to look into alternative ways to raise funds or cut spending like replacing secondary teachers from lunch-supervisory duties with lower paid, hourly lunch attendants, as well as limiting the non-essential testing done during the school year.

“It costs a lot of money to run these tests, and a lot of time is wasted to do these -- 25 percent of our school days last year were spent doing non-essential standardized tests. That's insanity,” Marlow said.

With the budget due to pass in June and the proposed budget already approved by the board, it is likely Marlow's suggestions will fall on deaf ears. Even so, the school district's Solicitor David Truelove tried to reassure Marlow and others of their efforts to lessen the blow.

“Everybody is working feverishly to find other options," Truelove said. "This isn't a pleasant decision, but unfortunately it's one of the few that we have available to us."