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Parents, students and teachers urge Eau Claire board to abandon proposed music-staff cuts
Summary
Dozens of public commenters — including students, parents, teachers and alumni — urged the board to reject proposed reductions in force and preserve music and arts staffing at Memorial High School and across the district, citing petitions and the community value of arts programs.
Dozens of community members urged the Eau Claire Area School District board to reverse or reconsider proposed staffing reductions that would reduce music and fine-arts offerings.
Nicholas Phillips, a music educator and parent, told the board he began a petition opposing proposed cuts that would reduce Memorial High School’s band staffing from 1.8 to 1.0 full-time equivalent and said the petition had 2,006 signatures at the start of the meeting. “Reduction to music instruction in our public schools is at odds with the district’s mission,” Phillips said, asking the board to “vote no to the proposed cuts and direct the district to explore non-instructional cuts instead.”
Several students — including Oliver Phillips and other Memorial High students — and parents described the personal impact of the music faculty and warned that losing experienced directors and staff would reduce opportunities for jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, pep bands, marching band and outreach programs. Parent and taxpayer Dave Berger said the stated district rationale (declining enrollment and state funding) did not justify eliminating 12.7 FTE that had been cited publicly and urged administration to find alternatives.
Other speakers, including long-time district music educators and alumni (Kathy Wrights, Liz Mosher, Eric Borg, Gwen Haywood and others), warned that cuts would weaken the district’s reputation as a regional music center and could accelerate enrollment decline. Several speakers pointed to recently funded facility improvements — an upgraded band room and auditorium — and asked why programming would be pared back after those investments.
Superintendent Mike Johnson and board members acknowledged the public comments and said the staffing agenda items appearing on the superintendent’s consent agenda were preliminary; administration said additional staffing detail would be discussed in a later staffing update. The board approved the superintendent’s consent agenda (which included preliminary notices of non-renewal) earlier in the meeting.
Speakers and the public requested greater transparency in the staffing process, and several asked the board to consider alternatives such as shared positions across schools or delayed program changes. The administration said schedule constraints, declining enrollment and course-request formulas were factors in staffing recommendations and that some reductions were mitigated by attrition and retirement windows.
