CAMARILLO : Music Program to Return to Schools

The sounds of instrumental music will soon be heard again in the Camarillo schools.

The Board of Trustees of the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District has voted to reinstate the band program eliminated earlier this year due to budget constraints.

The unanimous vote Thursday followed months of negotiations between the district and a group of parents and residents, called Save Our Kids’ Music, that had organized to try to save the instrumental music program.

The new band program, which was devised by Save Our Kids’ Music, will cost the district $26,000 for the remainder of this school year, less than half of the $59,000 spent on the program last year.

The saving will come from using only part-time, hourly instructors to teach band to fourth- through eighth-grade students at each of the district’s 11 elementary schools and two junior high schools.

In addition, Save Our Kids’ Music plans to raise funds to help the district pay for the program, said the group’s spokesman, Reese Copsey.

Besides showing the district how to save money on the band program, Save Our Kids’ Music demonstrated to the school board that there is a high level of interest in band among Camarillo students.

Band classes came under the budget ax after a budget committee, which included parents and teachers, rated instrumental music as a low priority compared to other programs that could be cut, such as bus transportation and reading instruction.

But a Save Our Kids’ Music survey showed that 12.3% of all fourth- through eighth-grade Camarillo students want to learn to play an instrument. A state music education association has said that a healthy band program includes about 15% of eligible students.

The district will begin advertising for the part-time instructors immediately to start the new classes as soon as possible.