Cary District 26 works to replace lost programs

Cary Elementary District 26's budget crisis has been devastating for students, leading the district to cut music, art and physical education.

But despite ongoing money worries, school officials, parents and volunteers are working to continue offering activities that have suffered the worst from budget cuts.

"It comes down to providing some of the basics and working to think outside the box to provide these activities in a totally different format," said Mary Dudek, director of curriculum and instruction. "Sometimes really great ideas come from really great challenges."

Perhaps the most promising example of those efforts is the district's band program. Band parents, working through the Cary Band Association, plan to continue offering band during the 2010-11 school year.

"If we got rid of band in fifth through eighth grade, what freshman would be willing to come up playing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' to learn their instrument?" said Dave Angle, vice president of the Cary Band Association. "Something had to be done."

The parents are changing band from a district-paid activity into a fee-based program. Parents in grades five and six would pay $255 per student each year; middle school parents would pay $290 a year.

Fees would cover the cost of equipment and the salary of an instructor who would lead rehearsals two or three times a week. The band association is interviewing candidates for the position.

"There are plenty available right now because many districts are laying off band directors," Angle said. "We'll be able to keep the program close to what it's been the past several years."

The art program also has benefitted from an energized group of parents. Lisa Stiegman has been working with other Cary moms to create "Get Smart with Art," a program that would send volunteers into every elementary school classroom to teach about art history and techniques.

"I don't want my kids to not be able to have any art," said Stiegman, who has children at Prairie Hill and Deer Path schools. "We need this volunteer program so they have some kind of art exposure."

The Cary Education Foundation awarded Stiegman a grant that will fund training for volunteers at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Despite parents' efforts, classroom teachers will have to pick up much of the slack starting in the fall. During staff development days, teachers will learn how to incorporate art, music and physical education into their weekly classroom routine.

Meanwhile, district staff is working with parents, a local business, the Cary Park District and the Cary Area Public Library to enhance the district's offerings in physical education and foreign language, as well as to make up for the lack of school librarians. All but one librarian were laid off this year.

Many of the alternatives are only in their infancy, but it appears the efforts underway could go a long way toward mitigating the impact of budget cuts while costing the district next to nothing.

"They need to be here," Dudek said of the programs lost to budget reductions. "It's a matter of thinking a way of how to do that. These activities are what makes a good district a great district."