Parents, students and teachers implore Northside trustees to preserve choir and dance amid budget cuts

Dozens of students, parents and teachers told the Northside Board of Trustees during the citizens‑to‑be‑heard portion of the meeting that proposed or announced reductions in middle‑school choir and dance programs would damage student opportunities and equity.

Fifth‑grader Elin Cagle of Patricia J. Blattman Elementary opened public comment with a separate request — a push for a rubber safety surface that would allow children who use wheelchairs to access play equipment. “When I saw her sitting on the concrete while her friends were playing on the playground, it broke my heart,” Elin said of her friend Ellie, and she urged the board to consider longer‑term playground surfacing that is more accessible.

Public testimony that followed focused overwhelmingly on fine arts staffing and program changes the district is planning for next year. Parents and students described programs they said were scheduled to be cut or reduced at Connolly, Neff, Rayburn and Ross middle schools and at Holmes High School, and they urged trustees to reconsider decisions made at campus administrative level.

Several stude…