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Parents, volunteers urge board not to cut music and back bond package during public comment
Summary
Multiple parents and community volunteers told the Lake Oswego School District board on March 10 that music and arts programs are already lean and rely on parent fundraising; several speakers expressed support for the bond development committee's proposal to rebuild aging schools and maintain programming.
During the March 10 meeting of the Lake Oswego School District board, parents, volunteers and community members used the public-comment period to emphasize the district's reliance on school music and arts programs and to urge the board not to cut those offerings.
Valerie Jaster, identified as the president of the Lake Oswego High School Band and Orchestra parent group, told the board the parent group represents about 40 families formally and speaks for more than 300 households with students in band, orchestra, choir and drama. Jaster said the parent volunteers already raise “over $30,000 per year” to support music programs, buy and donate costly instruments (she cited one instrument the group purchased for $14,000), and that continuing cuts would force parents to raise even more to sustain programs. “Music changes people's lives,” Jaster said, adding that her son, who has autism, found leadership and belonging through music.
Other speakers during the public-comment period reiterated support for the bond development committee's package. Ally Reif, who said she served on the bond development committee, praised the committee's work and urged the board to trust district staff to implement the package, saying it would rebuild two "desperately old" schools and consolidate administrative functions to save future rental costs.
Speakers also urged the district to preserve community open space while rebuilding schools. A number of comments referenced the committee's outreach and financial analysis and said they would support a "tax-neutral" renewal of the bond if it included replacement of Lake Grove Elementary on its current site.
Why it matters: Parents said music and arts programs are disproportionately sustained by volunteers and fundraising and that cuts to those programs would create inequities for students who rely on arts offerings for social and emotional support. Several speakers explicitly linked their support for the bond to preserving those programs and improving aging facilities.
No formal action was taken during the public comment period. The board proceeded to its consent agenda after the public comments closed.
