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Rock Ridge board tables music task force request for extra staff pending enrollments
Summary
Parents and the music task force asked the Rock Ridge School Board to add 0.5 FTE (with the hope of making it 1.0) to ease travel demands and restore general-music offerings; after debate about budget and retention data the board agreed to table the hire until its June 8 meeting to review registration numbers.
Parents and music task force members asked the Rock Ridge School Board on Monday to add 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) to the district’s music staff, with advocates saying the position would reduce exhausting travel schedules for music teachers and free specialists to focus on ensembles.
The request came during a dedicated presentation by the music task force and public comments from parents including Molly Peltier, who urged the board to "support the proposal laid out in the administrative summary" and described the additional time as "an important first step" toward a thriving district music program. Task force supporters said the 0.5 would largely cover general-music and elementary needs; some members said they hoped the hire could become a full-time position to better cover K–12 responsibilities.
Administrators cautioned the board that the additional FTE was not in the current budget and could require adjustments if enrollment does not rise. High-school staff, speaking at the meeting, presented enrollment trends showing stable band and orchestra numbers but a steep decline in choir participation (a drop cited from about 145 to 41 over recent years), which complicates how FTE follows student demand. "We want to help music," a district staff member said, noting the district schedules and course loads have been reworked to improve access to music classes.
Board members balanced support for music against competing staffing and class-size pressures elsewhere in the district. Several board members asked for final PSO/registration numbers that will be available after students finalize course selections; one member proposed delaying the hire until that data arrives so the board can better assess budget implications.
Rather than vote to add the 0.5 FTE immediately, the board agreed to table the motion and revisit the request at its June 8 meeting when PSO/registration figures are available.
What happens next: The board will review finalized student registration and PSO retention numbers ahead of the June 8 meeting, when members expect to decide whether to approve the additional music staffing and, if so, how to fund it.
