Don’t Eliminate Music in Schools

On Tuesday, the Board of Education for the San Diego Unified School District will vote on about $37 million in proposed budget reductions necessary to attain a balanced budget for fiscal 1991-92.

Many of these proposed cuts will come in the areas of administration, maintenance and support programs. But only one item on the agenda takes away an existing educational program involving direct teacher-to-student contact.

Supt. Thomas Payzant has proposed the elimination of the instrumental music program that currently serves 80 out of 108 elementary schools.

The instrumental music program already operates on a very lean and efficient budget. Sixteen music instructors are assigned five schools each. At these 80 schools, they teach students how to play a string, wind or brass instrument. Students served by this program have elected to receive special music training in addition to the required curriculum.

Payzant’s recommendation negates the school board’s own efforts to assure music education for every child. In July, 1988, the board adopted a three-year master plan to add five music instructors each year. This would have enabled all 108 schools in the system to offer music instruction by 1990-91. Budget shortfalls the past two years did not allow for full implementation of this plan, but Payzant’s recommendation would completely reverse the gains made in recent years.

The state board of education also views music education as essential, adopting a policy two years ago calling arts education “an integral part of basic education for all students kindergarten through grade 12.” Additionally, the board recommended that all districts “should develop a policy, allocate resources and carry out a plan to provide a high quality, comprehensive arts-education program for all students.”

The state maintains a one-year high school arts or foreign language graduation requirement. Acceptance into the California State University system requires one year of visual or performing arts course work. During the 1980s, rampant grade school music cuts depleted enrollment in high school bands and orchestras, further weakening a key component in the complete education of many youth.

According the National Commission on Music Education, students who studied music scored an average of 20-40 points higher on the SAT exams than did their counterparts during the years 1987-89.

If the San Diego school board is to follow the mandates set out by the state, as well as its own guidelines, the measure to eliminate 16 music teaching positions must be turned down.

A final argument against the proposed cut addresses long-term economic impacts. Arts administrators all over the country recognize that the continued livelihood of their organizations rests on developing in children an appreciation for the arts.

A recent study by San Diego’s Coalition for Arts and Culture showed that every dollar spent on attending a local arts event multiplied its effect on the economy, resulting in a total economic impact of $270.4 million. This is because arts organizations not only draw their support from local communities, but spend their revenues on local businesses to mount performances and hire local talent.

The Board of Education should return to its former platform to make music education available for every child in San Diego. Already, 28 schools in the district offer no instrumental music education. A reduction in just one teaching position will mean that children at five more elementary schools will be denied a vital component of their complete education, one that prepares the body, mind and soul.

MARK S. MANDEL

Community Council

for Music in the Schools