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Students perform for Music in Our Schools Month; parents urge board to protect music programs amid cuts
Summary
North High students performed and described festival successes during Music in Our Schools Month; parents and community members urged the district to treat music as core curriculum and raised concerns about recent travel and staffing cuts affecting music and elementary positions.
North High students performed before the Fargo Board of Education on March 10 as part of Music in Our Schools Month and described awards, scholarship opportunities and travel linked to the district’s music programs.
"Music has a powerful impact on students," student presenter Melissa Sorno told the board, listing solo and ensemble awards and saying band provides discipline, teamwork and belonging. Several students — including Gordy Barch, Lucas Toy and Eli Ozlockson — described festival experiences, the chance to earn scholarships, and for some, travel opportunities as highlights that keep them engaged in school.
Parents and community members used the public‑comment period to warn of financial decisions that could harm music programs. Bridal Toye, who identified herself as an attorney and a parent of a Fargo North student, said music is not an extracurricular activity but a mandated course under state curriculum and pressed the board to avoid treating music the same as other activities when making budget cuts. Toye said last fall’s budget reductions had eliminated jazz band travel and that students are "terrified of what may happen" if more cuts occur.
A separate parent comment from Heather Johnson criticized a proposal to eliminate 15 full‑time elementary positions districtwide — three at her children’s school — saying two PE positions and a gifted and talented teacher at her school would be lost under the proposal. Johnson urged the planning committee and superintendent to reexamine software and hardware spending, consider modest bus fees for travel activities, or modestly raise admission costs for non‑class events instead of cutting classroom staff.
Board response and context
Board members praised the student performance and thanked teachers and families. Superintendent Dr. Steiner and President Laura acknowledged the district’s difficult financial position elsewhere on the agenda, noting that spending has outpaced revenue and that staff reductions would be painful. Steiner also highlighted district grants and program work elsewhere in his report, including a $51,000 state grant for Grow Your Own implementation and a Department of Public Instruction waiver allowing online courses as a first option at the high school level.
What to watch next
Parents asked the board to reconsider staffing cut proposals and to protect music program investments; board discussion later in the meeting addressed broader budget choices and the district’s work on long‑range facilities and strategic planning. No board vote to eliminate the 15 positions occurred at this meeting.
