Whittell parents furious with class reductions
By Anne Knowles
GARDNERVILLE – Twenty-six parents, grandparents, students and teachers spoke out against the possible elimination of the music program at Whittell High School on May 9 during a special meeting of the Douglas County School District board.
Almost twice that many attendees filled the audience in the Carson Valley Middle School library where the seven-member board met Friday afternoon to discuss revisions to its strategic plan.
The possibility of curriculum cuts was not on the agenda, but some Zephyr Cove parents organized via email and Facebook to encourage people to attend the meeting and give a show of support to the music program during the period for public comment.
Whittell High parents crowd the May 9 board meeting. Photo/Anne Knowles
The speakers each talked about the importance of the music classes, choir and band to the students overall education and for college admissions, and many told personal stories of the value of the program.
“I’ve been in the music program since sixth grade,” said Gabe Rusk, a sophomore at Whittell who is a band member. “It’s something I need for my future. It’s probably the way I’m going to get into college.”
Elaine Welch talked about her two children, graduates of Whittell, who sang in the school’s Black and White Choir.
“They sang at the Sacramento Kings basketball game. They sang at the Reno Aces games,” said Welch. “It would be a shame if the choir program went away.”
Maxwell Glasson, a 2002 Whittell graduate, said his participation in the music program helped him get into college and, indirectly, into law school.
“I moved back to raise my family and to put my kids through school there,” said Glasson. “You’re putting these kids’ futures in jeopardy.”
Glasson and several other speakers struggled to speak after choking up with tears during their three-minute allotted time, and every speaker was met with a round of applause when they finished.
Many implored the board to form a committee of parents, educators and administrators to come up with ways to save the program.
“We’re asking to collaborate and for a seat at the table,” said parent Carol Chaplin. “We can think outside of the box together.”
Greg Felton, a parent of two children who graduated from Whittell and a third child attending it, suggested such a group could come up with a long-term plan.
“Put together a task force or committee with the people here and put in place a 10-year plan so this is not hitting us every year,” Felton said. “And in the meantime, freeze the cuts.”
Several parents said this is just the latest in a list of sacrifices the school has already made, especially after Kingsbury Middle School closed and its students were moved into Whittell, putting two schools into one building. It is now a 7-12 school.
“There were 92 periods offered when Whittell and Kingsbury merged,” said Kelly Krolicki, a parent, whose daughter Kate, a Whittell student, spoke after her. “Now there are 74 periods and we’re talking about cutting that to 72 periods. We’ve lost 20 periods in six years.”
Some parents talked about reductions in information technology classes and the unfulfilled promise to hire a vice principal for the school, but most were focused on the threat to the music program.
Nancy Gardner, a member of the DCSD board 40 years ago and a mother and grandmother to Whittell graduates, said she understood the fiscal constraints the current board was working under.
“I understand the issues. There are so many of the same issues we faced,” said Gardner. “One lesson we learned as a board was to carefully pick our fights. This is a battle you should not be fighting.”
Cindy Trigg, Lake Tahoe’s representative on the board also made public comment as a parent. She opened the meeting explaining that the board could not bring or comment on future agenda items during the meeting.
“We are not going to have a conversation back and forth,” she said.
Tom Moore, the board president, closed the public comment, thanking everyone for their respectful and thoughtful suggestions, and making a promise of sorts. The issue was not on an agenda item at the special board meeting. The meeting was called to tie up lose issues regarding the strategic plan.
“This is a conversation that is going to be taking place at the board level very soon,” Moore said.
When the people abdicate responsibility for education of their children to the state schools, they get what the state wants to give.
Privatize education. Aren’t your children worth it?
Wonderful to see that parents now see that music is an essential part if education. Stand your ground!
This brings to mind Winston Churchill during the dark days of WWII. There was an initiative to cut funding for the arts during the war, Mr. Churchill asked “then, what are we fighting for?”.
Considering the amounts spent on sports programs and what that produces, it would be tragic to see something as culturally valuable as music, IMHO.
Dog. The Public Education system created modern America and is the foundation to OUR success as a Nation. We had private education ages ago and only the wealthy were educated.
@Rock4-I think dog is onto something. Why would a cog in a corporate machine need to be burdened with the ability to read, other than to receive teaching in the proper life from the bible? When the company store is keeping track of your expenses for you there is no need to balance a checkbook. All you need to be able to do is turn on your tv.
@Dumbfounded-thanks for the Churchill quote…you made my day!
Until the 1840s most schools were privately funded. And yet this country was growing rapidly, becoming prosperous, and most people could read. There was no Federal Dept of Education till Jimmy Carter’s Administration. 1979.
Gosh, without government, we’d all be illiterate and die.
Just sayin’, if you want your education to be “free”, you get what they’re willing to give, for “free”.
Dog. Forgot that little thing in the 1800’s called SLAVERY again and the only reason the Country “grew” was from displacement of Native Americans by land takings; not by GDP output. American GDP during the 1800’s was basically flat until AFTER the Civil War.
In California, property taxes used to support education, but Prop 13 ended that program and now about 30% of property taxes support Education. Prop 98 says that at least 40% of California general fund supports Education.
There is no such thing as LIBERTARIAN NIRVANA and there never will be.
When we allow the sociopathic teabag wing of the GOP to push their hate gubmint views on civil society we get school systems with no funds for things like music-of course most of these ‘patriotic’ citizens already benefit from the good public schools have done for our country-they just don’t see why those new generations of ‘other’ kind of children should get tax dollars too
And enclosure movements across Europe were forcing people to leave their homelands. People are seen as expendable by industry. One of the reasons Public schools were instituted was as as a place to keep kids after captains of industry cried foul because children were gunking up the machines with their fingers and hands during long days of child labor. Businesses were upset because of lost revenue when they had to stop and clean the blood and bone and bits of meat out of the machines, and when an adult had to stay home to care for an injured child.
Your read on things, Dog, as is often the case, is shallow, shows your anti-government bias and lacks compassion. Been to Church lately?
Your ignorance is astounding. Is THAT what they taught you in the government schools?
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Have a good weekend. I’m done.
I gotta say, being called ignorant by you is a compliment. There is this thing called ‘history’. There is the spin that is put on it by those in power to support and justify their actions. They usually leave out the particulars that cast them in an unsavory light. Maybe you forget the manner in which slaves in the South AND the waves of immigrants in the North were treated. Surely you are not naive enough to drink the government and corporate purple Flav-r-aid. Oh wait-you’re a Christian Libertarian(now THERE’S a contradiction!). Of course you are naive enough to believe the cant….and willfully so. I doubt you’re done.
Love the Churchill quote too
If the parents are that up-set let them vote for a $60,000,000 bond to fix everything.
Dog, public schools are not free, our taxes support these institutions.its a good thing for our country to have kids educated, supported by their communities and given every opportunity to succeed in life. If you dont want the majority of children in this country to get an education than keep on spewing your draconian garbage and maybe your flat earth followers will get their way, but there are way too many educated people out there to let you win. I am thankful to support public education with my taxes and the other costs that are part of my child getting a well rounded education.