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Community speakers urge board not to eliminate K-5 licensed music, offer half-time alternative
Summary
Parents, music teachers and counselors told the Gresham-Barlow School District board the proposal to cut licensed K-5 music teachers would damage the district's feeder programs and urged a half-time alternative that district staff estimate would cost only tens of thousands more than the administration's plan.
Becky Caputo, a longtime district employee and parent, told the board the proposal to eliminate licensed K-5 music instruction would be "a fundamental shift in what we offer children," and pressed leaders to explain who would deliver state-required arts instruction if licensed teachers are removed.
"If EAs are expected to deliver predesigned lessons that presents real challenges in instruction and classroom management," Caputo said, adding that elementary music lays the foundation for award-winning middle and high school programs. She urged the board to answer three questions: what is the plan, who developed it, and what are the mid- and long-term impacts.
Several music educators and parents echoed that concern. Jenna Gonyea, a…
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