Educators, parents press Chatham County Schools to restore arts stipends and honor local master''s pay

An extended public comment period at the Chatham County Board of Education's Nov. 3 meeting focused on cuts to arts stipends and questions about locally funded master''s pay.

Dr. Zach Wills, an arts educator who spoke during public comment, asked the board for "a transparent accounting of our financial situation and how we got from the beginning of summer to a reduction or elimination of our arts stipends for our arts educators." He said many colleagues "can't pay the rent without a second job" after the changes were announced.

Parents, music staff and arts boosters described how stipend reductions have affected school music and theater programs. Michelle Steck, a veterinarian and vice president of the Northwood Band Boosters, said music teachers volunteered summer time preparing for convocation and now face dramatic cuts to stipends that had been intended to cover hundreds of outside-the-day hours. "A child and their family shouldn't have to beg for money for basic needs to enable the child to participate in activities," Steck said.

Rachel Horowitz Andrews, an educator who said she…