Radnor parents and alumni press board over arts and music electives as administrators cite low sign‑ups

Dozens of parents, students and alumni addressed the Radnor Township School District board on May 27, urging the district to keep arts, music and theater electives that administrators are not scheduling because of low initial enrollment.

Speakers at the meeting named teachers and classes they said were essential for college preparation and student engagement. Jessica Richter, a Radnor parent, warned that ‘‘by leaving music and arts classes off the schedule, we're chipping away at the program that we've worked really hard to rebuild since COVID.’’ Alumni and current students described AP Music Theory, honors acting and technical theater as pathways to college programs and careers.

The superintendent and high‑school administrators responded directly to the crowd, saying the district has not removed courses from the course selection booklet and that decisions about whether a section runs are driven by student sign‑ups and scheduling constraints. ‘‘No one is cutting the arts. No one has any interest in cutting the arts. No one wants to cut the arts,’’ the superintendent stated, and he gave specific enrollment figures: AP music theory had been run with five students this year and, as of the board reply before schedule creation, only four students were signed up for next year; modern band had one signup, silkscreen one, sculpture four.

Board members and administrators invited parents to follow up with high‑school staff to review the numbers and explore ways to boost enrollment. Several speakers asked the district to explain whether the cancellations were driven by budget shortfalls, enrollment thresholds, or scheduling rules. The administration said running classes with very low enrollment poses scheduling and staffing constraints but offered to meet with concerned parents to explore alternatives.

The public comment period included repeated requests for transparency about the criteria used to decide whether an elective ‘‘runs,’’ and multiple commenters asked the board to consider outreach, targeted recruitment, and fundraising to sustain niche electives. The board said teachers have not been eliminated and that many courses remain listed in the course selection booklet; the administration noted they will try to reroute students into related courses when possible.

Next steps: administrators offered to meet with parents and high‑school staff to review the enrollment data and scheduling options; the board told parents it would continue committee work on enrollment and curriculum questions.