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Mifflin County board discusses cutting elementary music post, parents and teachers push back
Summary
Board and administrators presented a plan to reduce middle‑school music instructional time and eliminate an elementary music position by attrition; parents, teachers and community members urged the board to retain staff, citing enrollment data and student supports.
The Mifflin County School District board discussed a plan that would reduce sixth‑grade music instruction at Mifflin County Middle School from 90 days to 45 days and eliminate an elementary music position through attrition.
Board member Michael DeRoz (spoke during the agenda update) said the administration’s proposal would keep grade‑6 music at the middle school but shorten the time students spend in that course and reassign staff so the district would provide 2.5 middle‑school music teacher positions rather than the current three. “Still remains our intention to eliminate an elementary music position through attrition and move forward with the plan that was discussed at our last meeting on June 10,” DeRoz said.
DeRoz gave enrollment figures to frame the proposal: 373 students were enrolled in grade 6 this year; 38 students were enrolled in the course referenced as chorus, 53 in band, and 20 were in both — a combined total of 71 students participating in band or chorus out of 373 sixth‑graders.
Teachers and parents who spoke at public comment said the proposed cuts would harm recruitment into performing ensembles and reduce supports for students with disabilities. Katie Benford, introduced herself as the choral director at Northwood County Junior High and Northwood County High School, warned that diminished middle‑school music time would reduce the “consistency of having the same director in front of them” and hinder the development that keeps students in performing groups.
Lisa Schenker, who identified herself as a middle‑school paraeducator, described operational impacts if more study halls are added to the middle‑school schedule: “By adding even more study halls, we're potentially increasing the number of students that are already in the existing study halls where some of them have up towards 70 students,” she said, adding that pulling paraeducators to cover study halls would reduce supports in special‑education classrooms.
Samantha Gates, a district music teacher, said general music classes teach reading‑music skills that help students with dyslexia and other learning differences. “Music reading skills were taught in the general music classes at MCMS,” she said. Gates and other speakers argued that cutting the position would reduce cross‑curricular learning opportunities that benefit reading and other academic skills.
Board members and administrators who spoke framed the proposal as an attempt to redistribute limited staff time across grade levels. DeRoz said the administration’s plan would “add more time in the schedule to provide lessons” and “increase double the number of available periods for choir,” while matching grade‑6 music time to other specials such as family and consumer science and tech ed at 45 days.
No final vote occurred at the meeting. Several speakers requested a fuller analysis of scheduling impacts, special‑education coverage and ensemble recruitment before any personnel action is taken.
The board agenda shows the staffing item remains on future agendas; the district said any personnel changes would follow the board’s personnel process.
