In reading the following statement as published by the Greenville Herald Banner on 6 May 23; presumably from a Greenville ISD representative, I am confused as to why an organization that is not contracted (to my knowledge) to be held responsible for a program administered by GISD.
I would be very interested to learn if this follows a precedent or if this is a solo situation and the exact reasons for the administration of any program under an educational system that would apparently give responsibility to an outside source.
The article further states the reason for discarding the Suzuki program was the need to hire extra teachers for the special education department. It would seem funding for such would be provided by the state or federal governments as it is specifically intended for a select number of children versus programs intended for the general population of students. It also seems to be suspiciously late in the hiring cycle of teachers to adjudicate this.
The following is quoted directly from the article
GREENVILLE HERALD BANNER
In regard to the potential reinstatement of the program, Greenville ISD said that the Greenville Suzuki Strings Association (GSSA) would need to “play an integral role in bringing the program back into the district with fidelity.”
GISD School Board President Aletha Kruse and Superintendent Sharon Boothe have “invited” the community to coffee on Saturday, 20 May @ 9am. The original post stated 10am but in order to attend you must RSVP BY 17 May to the following Google form:
Please be aware they also stated the following:
“Our meeting will loosely follow our last regularly called board meeting, to expand and answer questions you may have. We have a small amount of time to discuss other items that you have questions about, BUT WE JUST RESERVE THE RIGHT TO GET BACK TO YOU, IF WE DON’T HAVE THE ANSWER OR NOT AT LIBERTY TO ADDRESS AT THE TIME OF THE QUESTION(LIKE PERSONELL AND/OR LEGAL)
The meeting will take place at the Wesley Martin Administration building, the address is: 4004 Moulton St. Greenville Tx
Caps are mine for emphasis & to highlight what appears to be a ubiquitous lack of transparency in this matter as we’ve received the following statements ie: need for extra staff in other departments & the expectation that an outside organization will assume a level of accountability for the program.
Further, I have great concerns about the “storage” of thousands of dollars worth of instruments, these are not tires to be thrown into a heap so I would like to be appraised of the plans. I believe the community deserves answers.
If you can attend, please do! I realize it’s short notice but please continue to post to your social media networks, as YOU have managed to reach an amazing number of people who are in solidarity with this petition; almost 800 signatures in less than two weeks since beginning this!
For those of you that have donated- I SEE YOU!
For everyone who has answered this petition-
Thank you doesn’t seem like a big enough phrase but it’s all I can muster right now, much love to each & every one who believes in the importance of the program to the kids!
To end this update:
Even the smallest steps will eventually lead somewhere