Rock Ridge board hears pleas to save music, tables most budget votes after packed meeting

A packed Rock Ridge Public Schools board meeting on March 24 drew extended public comment as parents, students and teachers urged the board to preserve orchestra, choir and other specialist positions threatened by proposed budget cuts.

The meeting’s most repeated demand came from Chris Ishmael, a longtime community volunteer, who told the board: "The solution has to be a referendum." Ishmael said the district should pursue an operating levy referendum rather than repeatedly trimming programs and staff.

Why it matters: Administrators presented a budget plan that would shrink some specialist positions, reduce lesson time in music and increase average class sizes at the high school. Parents and teachers said the changes would weaken programs that attract open‑enrollment students and provide social and academic benefits.

Multiple parents and students described concrete harms if lessons and early‑grade orchestra are cut. "Cutting time at orchestra will have devastating effects on student achievement and retention," said Nissa Evenson, a parent who told the board she enrolled her children in Rock Ridge specifically for orchestra. Sixth‑grade student Emma Peltier said losing fifth‑grade orchestra would deny future students a formative early experience: "I love being in orchestra," she said, asking the board to keep lessons and small‑group instruction.

Teachers and staff warned the board about cascading effects from the district’s proposed FTE reductions. Janine Bauman, a high‑school family and consumer sciences teacher, said specialist cuts would force many students into study halls and leave hundreds without their first‑choice electives. "We have classes right now with 48 students in English," she said, calling the prospect of doubled specialist groups unsafe and educationally harmful.

Superintendent’s update and financial pressures The superintendent’s report framed the choices as fiscal necessity. The superintendent said consolidated districts face technical complications with the state’s referendum rules and outlined a likely unfunded exposure this summer related to changes in summer unemployment benefits for certain part‑time staff. He estimated the district could be responsible for roughly $150,000–$175,000 this summer and said reserves are smaller in practical terms than they appear on paper. "You cannot kick the can down the road anymore," he said, urging the board to address structural funding shortfalls.

What administrators proposed and the tradeoffs Principals presented a class‑size worksheet that modeled the effect of the cuts. In several elementary buildings, leaders proposed rotating specialist schedules (for example, a two‑week rotation that would split music, art and physical education) and small reductions to interventionist and ESL FTEs. At the high school, administrators proposed reductions that would raise average class sizes and reduce elective offerings where enrollment is already low; music at the high school was marked for a net 1.1‑FTE reduction driven in part by lower student registration for choir and band.

Board action and next steps Rather than adopt final budget cuts immediately, the board scheduled a work session for Friday at 4:00 p.m. and a special board meeting on Monday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m. to take final action.

On votes taken during the meeting, the board approved a teacher retirement/resignation incentive memorandum and accepted four teachers who elected the $10,000 option. The board also considered, but did not approve, a principals’ retirement incentive memorandum (that motion failed on the roll call). The consent agenda and several procedural items also passed unanimously earlier in the meeting.

Voices from the room "Fancy buildings don't educate children," argued Molly Peltier, a parent who said the district’s new facilities must be paired with teachers to realize their educational promise. Julie Stansted, a 29‑year teacher, pressed the board to preserve specialist teachers and highlighted an $3.9 million undesignated fund balance included in district documents that she suggested could offset cuts.

What’s next The board will revisit the proposed reductions at the Friday work session and must act at the special meeting March 31 if it keeps the current timetable. Administrators emphasized the district must hit a target to avoid formal statutory operating debt; the superintendent warned that failing to act would create a far larger fiscal problem next year.

Reporting notes: Quotes and details are drawn from the board’s public audio/transcript. The first references to speakers include their names and roles as they self‑identified or as introduced at the meeting.