Additional Details for Supporters

First of all, thank you to all of the parents, students, and alumni who came out to the meeting tonight. It was great to see you all and I know that Mr. Green appreciates the support. We wanted to provide you with some additional details that you can use when contacting Mr. Bulson or members of the School Board to discuss your concerns. Mr. Green has been reassigned to be the full-time band director at Speight Middle School. He was originally asked by the Central Office to share his time between Beddingfield and Speight as the director of bands at both schools. The current schedules at the high school and middle school level would not accommodate this arrangement HOWEVER, the schedule at the middle school could be modified to allow it to work. Three of the middle schools in the county are moving to this schedule when school starts so there is already a precedent for the format. Ms. Budd, the principal at Speight, refused to adjust the schedule there. Mr. Franks, the principal at Beddingfield, did everything he could to accommodate the arrangement. Based upon Ms. Budd's refusal to adapt the schedule at Speight, the Central Office assigned Mr. Green to Speight as a full-time band director and down-graded the position at Beddingfield to a part-time position. Their reasoning for this decision was that the enrollment in the band program at Beddingfield does not support a full-time position. The enrollment numbers for the program for the 2014-15 school year do NOT support that assertion. Beddingfield Band Enrollment by Years: 2007-08: 32 2008-09: 22 2009-10: 27 2010-11: 27 2011-12: 26 2012-13: 23 2013-14: 22 2014-15: 30 (Not including Sally B. Howard Students) How is it possible that the year that the program has the highest enrollment since 2007 that it suddenly does not have enough students to substantiate a full-time position? How is it possible that another position at the same high school, such as the position held by the football coach, that is only supported by two in-school suspension classes, qualifies for a full-time position and the band director position does not? These are questions to which we need answers. In addition to Mr. Green's outstanding qualities that have been referenced in the petition and the comments made by supporters, we would like to add the following facts regarding the band and Mr. Green: The Marching band has won numerous awards throughout North Carolina and in several other states including Ohio, Florida, and Georgia, to name a few. The experiences for the children involved in the band go beyond what happens in Marching Band. The classroom instruction and interaction with Mr. Green are an integral part of their development as musicians. The concert band has received only excellent and superior ratings since 2003. Beddingfield has the only high school band in Wilson County to have students selected for the All-State Band and have students who are consistently placed in All-District. Many students have received band and music scholarships and two of the current Wilson County band directors are BHS band alumni. Mr. Green is the only Wilson County band director to have ever conducted the All-District Band. The band at Beddingfield consistently plays music that is above their grade level, despite their small size. Beyond the musical education aspect of band, the students enrolled in the program at Beddingfield represent some of the poorest of the population of Wilson County. The experiences offered to them through the competition trips grant many of them their only opportunities to travel outside of North Carolina and for some, outside of Wilson County. These trips include cultural enrichment beyond fun at an amusement park and often grant the opportunity to visit places of historical significance, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the symphony in a large metropolitan city such as Atlanta, and numerous others. Due to the decreased number of electives being offered at the middle school level, there is an increased number of students enrolled in band at Speight for the coming year. The ideal solution to the existing problem would be for the Central Office to return the band director position at Beddingfield to a fully funded, full-time position, leaving Mr. Green in place, and then hiring a new director for Speight. A workable compromise would be to require Ms. Budd to adjust the schedule at Speight, as has been done at half of the other middle schools in the county, to allow for sharing of Mr. Green between the two schools. There are options that will preserve the program at Beddingifield by allowing Mr. Green to remain the Director of Bands there. Currently, the students enrolled in band at BHS for the 2014-15 school year will arrive with the possibility that there will be no band. Students who may be preparing for a career in music education may finish their high school education without the guidance and mentoring of a director who could assist them with obtaining scholarships and enrollment in the most beneficial programs for their future. The decision made by the Central Office is not only robbing a single group of students from a year of band, it is most likely robbing the school a thriving band program in the future. Please contact the members of the Wilson County Board of Education, specifically, those assigned to Speight and Beddingfield: Robin Sharpe Flinn, Chair: 252-243-2473 Vice Chair: Eunice Irene Lindsey: 252-236-4425 Velma Barnes: 252-237-7040 Dr. Christine L. Fitch: 252-243-5967 Henry Mercer: 252-291-0098 Wiley A. Boyette, Jr.: 252-291-5814