Batavia parents, students protest dismissal of middle school orchestra teacher

Batavia parents have launched a petition opposing the dismissal of Chris Griffith, a longtime orchestra instructor at Rotolo Middle School.

As of late Friday afternoon, nearly 1,500 people had signed the community petition.

"Chris Griffith is an extremely crucial component of the Batavia Music Program," read part of the petition. "It takes a special type of commitment, talent, patience, and knowledge to instruct a complex subject such as orchestra. The dedication of Chris Griffith is unmatched. He doesn't do this job for the money or the opportunity; he does it for students."

But school district spokeswoman Sue Gillerlain said his dismissal, along with dozens of others, is part of a yearly process in which teachers are let go and rehired as enrollment figures come into focus.

Rotolo will still have an orchestra program, but it could be taught by a different, licensed music teacher if Griffith is not brought back, Gillerlain said. She noted the middle school's enrollment is projected to decrease each year for the next five years.

A discussion at a Batavia Elementary District 101 school board meeting this week and an email from the Rotolo principal indicates a final decision has been made to fire Griffith and Melanie Meyer, a Rotolo art teacher, effective May 31.

"There are two people on this (honorable dismissal) list that we did as a staffing reduction over at Rotolo," Steven Pearce, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, told the board at the 34-minute mark of the BATV video of Tuesday's board meeting posted on YouTube.

"Having said that, that's part of what happens," Pearce continued. "They're not tenured and we have to continue to watch over enrollment and student needs with our staffing plan and sometimes we have to make those decisions."

Rotolo Principal Bryan Zwemke also sent an email to Batavia parent Ellen Knautz indicating Griffith's duties will be split among other music teachers. "We are planning on staffing our orchestra program with our great music teachers," read part of the email.

Zwemke could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

On the petition's comments, students lamented Griffith's departure, saying they cried when he told them Friday.

Knautz, who unsuccessfully ran for the school board in 2015, said she is concerned students won't get the same level of expertise and instruction, and that Griffith's dismissal is the first step in the eventual termination of Rotolo's orchestra program.

"We are losing a beloved teacher," Knautz said. "My concern is we are not replacing that teacher with someone who is specialized in orchestra. That will be a detriment to the program."