Northshore SD is cutting the 5th grade band and orchestra in the fall.

 

 

Facing a $26M shortfall, the Northshore School District administration and school board have made plans to move forward with cuts (King5 News article) to the district’s 5th grade Orchestra and Band program beginning this fall. This means that current 4th graders will not get an option to play in band or orchestra this fall. (This will be the first time this has happened in 40 years!)

 

 

See the full article on the King5 website.

Cutting 5th grade band and orchestra has significant secondary impacts that will cost the district money and will have far reaching impacts including reducing the entire district’s instrumental programs by 65% and lowering the overall quality of the program.

Parent voices are the only chance to stop this education cut.

A group of Northshore parents has officially invited Dr. John Benham, a national financial music consultant and music education advocate, to come to our district to share a report on the impact of these budget cuts and make recommendations based on his years of work in this area. Our hope is that everyone can come together to create a plan to provide a band and orchestra option for this fall's 5th graders that also supports choir. We acknowledge that the current program is not ideal and welcome ideas to make it better for everyone in the most fiscally responsible manner.

It is critical for the district to visibly see that we, parents and community members, care about the NSD music programs.

There will be a public meeting for parents, students and anyone else to attend on Saturday, April 20th from 9:30am – 11:30am at the Kirkland Performance Center. Dr. Benham will share his report on the impacts of the budget cuts and provide his insights and recommendations for an improved program that benefits all. 

What you can do:

• Sign our petition. Your voice matters!
• Join our newsletter to stay informed on this issue and what we can do about it.
• Consider donating to the fund to the GoFundMe to help pay for Dr. Benham’s travel and time and our outreach efforts.
• Volunteer your time to help us! If you have ideas or suggestions, please reach out to us at info@saveNSDmusic.org.
• Most importantly, please attend the public meeting on April 20th at the KPC to become better informed and show your support!

 

To learn more about this effort, please review our FAQ’s page.

You can also reach out to us at info@saveNSDmusic.org.