Will Plan C save Dist. 204's music technique program?
The past week has been one of constant brainstorming as music and core educators continued their work to save Indian Prairie School District 204's music technique program.
On Monday night, administrators and music department officials unveiled Plan C, the second plan presented since the district announced March 22 it would eliminate the program at the middle school level.
The most recent plan reduces the number of teachers released from 19 in the initial proposal to 9. Of those 10 additional teachers, two would be specifically assigned to the elementary music program and eight would work where they were needed in the district's music program.
Plan C also reinstates the middle school technique program to about 80-90 percent of its current instruction; reinstates the fifth-grade instrumental music program that had been restricted in a previous plan and charges a $108 fee annually for each sixth- through 12th-grade instrumental music students
Some considerations for Plan C - which has not yet been finalized - include options for students to be pulled from their encore classes only, or from both core and encore classes.
"By clustering staff at (grades) five through eight and having some more flexibility of who we assign to what building on what day, we're able to maintain a majority of what we're currently offering students with large ensemble and small technique classes which, in our opinion, is a wonderful thing," district music curriculum coordinator and Neuqua Valley Associate Principal Mark Truckenbrod said. "There are many, many details that will need to be ironed out."
Currently, in addition to the daily band and orchestra rehearsals, technique classes provide instruction for groups of four to eight students to improve individual instrumental performance. The classes are scheduled on a rotating basis.
Band and orchestra students are scheduled into a technique class once per week in lieu of another class on their schedule. The rotation ensures no subject is missed more than once every four weeks.
Music Department Chairman Charles Staley spoke in support of Plan C, saying it was the best option given the district's budget constraints.
"If you asked me 10 weeks ago if I thought we'd be here with an opportunity to talk about a plan to keep our program intact, I'd be happy to know that, so I'd say keeping it in perspective of what we've been dealing with - this plan is just brilliant," Staley said. "Given the tenuous status of our funding from the state, this is probably the best we can do."
Some board members, however, insisted negotiations continue with core and encore staff and expressed concern the $108 fee may keep some students from returning to the program next year.
"Obviously, the linchpin to this plan is the fee that allows us to bring back eight additional staff members," board President Curt Bradshaw said. "Will they view this as a good trade-off, the eight staff members for the $108 fee for the year?"
Superintendent Kathryn Birkett reiterated that no student would be denied participation for not being able to afford fees.
"I know we've had students who are horrified at some of the fees they're hearing about, so I think we're going to be looking at our booster groups and everybody out there to see if we can target to raise so many dollars for scholarships for our kids."
Director for School Improvement Mike Popp said the group working out Plan C details now need to know how many staff members they can count on having back before the plan is finalized.
The board is next scheduled to meet May 17.