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Parents, alumni and teachers urge Sweet Home board to keep advanced art classes
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Summary
Dozens of alumni, students, parents and art teachers urged the Sweet Home board to preserve advanced high-school art courses after administration proposed staffing adjustments; administrators said adaptive art and most classes will be retained but a 0.4 FTE art hire remains under consideration.
More than a half-dozen speakers at the Sweet Home Central School District board meeting on April 21 urged trustees to preserve advanced high-school art offerings after administrators proposed staffing shifts to close a budget gap.
Sarah Mahaney, a 2020 graduate who credited advanced art classes with helping her win scholarships to the Rochester Institute of Technology, told the board: "I strongly advise you to reconsider your decision to cut some of the advanced art classes and give future generations opportunities I had." Several other alumni, parents and students offered similar testimony, saying the advanced courses are central to college portfolios, careers and students’ emotional well-being.
Art teacher Kristen Purick, who said she has worked in the district for 21 years, described proposed reductions as "some of the most drastic and devastating" she has seen and warned that losing advanced sections would leave students with study halls instead of meaningful electives. "Without these advanced courses, they are simply not competitive with students in neighboring districts," she said.
Administrators responded that the district has adjusted its recommendation after teacher and department discussions. Dr. Genestri said adaptive art will not be eliminated and that the administration changed a previously proposed 1.0 FTE reduction in the high-school art department to a 0.6 FTE reduction so "we will still offer the full slate of classes for our students in art." He and other administrators described efforts to find a 0.4 FTE hire and to use options such as stipend-based sixth assignments if a part-time hire cannot be found.
Community members also highlighted turnout: the district received roughly 50 emails on the matter this week and a petition opposing cuts gathered about 380 signatures in the days before the meeting, a parent said. Board members thanked speakers and said they would reexamine the prioritization of arts, music and other electives as part of budget deliberations.
The board approved the budget package and related consent items by voice vote; administrators said the public budget hearing is set for May 5 and the public vote for May 19.
