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Parents urge Durham school board to preserve Club Boulevard Elementary dance program
Summary
Parents and PTA leaders urged the Durham Public Schools board to restore funding for the long-running dance program at Club Boulevard Elementary, saying it supports students’ social-emotional and academic development and that cuts would be difficult to reverse.
Parents and PTA leaders at a Durham Public Schools budget hearing urged the Board of Education to find funds to preserve the dance program at Club Boulevard Elementary, arguing the program serves a broad group of students and would be “nearly impossible to rebuild” if cut.
Speakers said the program has been part of the school for more than 20 years and described how students benefit from regular participation. Beth Red Myers, a Club Boulevard parent, read messages from children who said dance makes them feel included and confident. “Every week when I walk into dance, it is my favorite thing to do at school, and it makes me feel good about myself, like I belong,” Myers read on behalf of a first-grade student.
Alyssa Platt, Club Boulevard PTA secretary and a parent of two students, told the board the program is “one of the most inclusive and unifying” at the school and noted recent competitive success: the school’s elementary dance team won awards at an AMP dance competition. “Dance is the cornerstone of our school’s identity,” Platt said, adding that it develops teamwork, leadership and social-emotional skills.
Platt and Myers framed the request against broader budget shifts the district is making, including expansion of dual-language immersion (DLI) programs. They said DLI serves a limited subset of students while the dance program is open to all, and that smaller schools such as Club Boulevard have fewer resources to absorb cuts.
Speakers asked the board to weigh the long-term cost of losing arts programs, arguing that cuts to specialist offerings are difficult to reverse. The board’s agenda materials for the superintendent’s recommended budget are posted online; board members said they will review public comment as they continue budget deliberations in an upcoming work session.
The public comment portion of the hearing concluded with the board thanking speakers and noting that the superintendent’s recommended budget is available in BoardDocs for the work session.
