Letter: ARPS Friends of the Performing Arts Warn of Impending Cuts to Specials

by Oliver Waldman

In advance of the March 17 Amherst School Committee Annual Budget Hearing for FY27, Oliver Waldman, President of the ARPS Friends of the Performing Arts, emailed the following appeal to the performing arts community. 

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Next year, Amherst Public Schools are proposing major cuts to elementary “specials” programs, including eliminating one of the three elementary general music teaching positions.

This proposal is part of the district’s consolidation plan: Wildwood Elementary School and Fort River Elementary School will merge into the new Amethyst Brook Elementary School, and sixth graders will move to Chestnut Street Academy at the middle school building. As part of this transition, the district is currently proposing significant reductions in specials staffing, including cuts to music, art, PE, technology, and library positions. (You can see the complete details in this document; page 27 describes the specials cuts.)

The district claims that these programs will “continue effectively” and that students will be able to “maintain access” to the programs despite the cuts. However, the numbers tell a different story.

Currently, there are three full-time elementary general music teachers in the district. Eliminating one position would represent a 33% reduction in staffing, even though the number of students in the district will remain essentially the same. This means each of the remaining teachers would see their student load increase by roughly 50%.

Under the new system, elementary specials teachers would have five 40-minute planning periods per week, and see ~500 students during that time. That comes out to about 24 seconds of planning per week per student.

This has a direct impact on some of our most vulnerable students. With this workload, it will become effectively impossible to implement IEPs and 504s. Additionally, adaptive specials, which currently provide dedicated instruction to students with disabilities, would no longer be offered.

The cuts would also affect important school traditions and opportunities. Longstanding programs such as the Crocker Farm musical would likely no longer be feasible, as that teacher would be responsible for roughly 30 classes and commuting between two schools each day. Additionally, elementary chorus programs would likely disappear.

These unsustainable positions are a recipe for educator burnout and high turnover. It will be very difficult to retain highly qualified, experienced teachers under these circumstances.

Elementary general music is a foundational experience for every student in the district. It is where children first learn to sing together, create music, build confidence performing, and develop the basic skills that allow them to participate in band, chorus, orchestra, theater, and other performing arts later in their education. The positive musical experiences students have in elementary school often shape their artistic journeys for years to come. If you have a minute, it’s worth reading this stirring article by Lori Schwartz Reichl about the importance of elementary music programs.

To their credit, the School Committee has stated that maintaining strong specials programs is a priority. However, specials are currently the last item on the Committee’s priority list. Hopefully, with community action, that can change.

Two years ago around this time, there was a proposal to cut one of the elementary instrumental teachers, and the community thankfully showed up en masse to stave off these cuts and keep the position fully funded. If we all make our voices heard, we have the chance to do the same here!

Here are the different ways you can send a public comment to the School Committee:

• Attend the upcoming budget meeting: Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall Town Room or attend remotely
• Speak during public comment (up to three minutes) about why music education matters to you or your family
• Leave a voicemail: 413-362-1891 before 3:00 PM on Tuesday
• Send a text: 413-362-1891 before 3:00 PM on Tuesday
• Email: SCPublicComment@arps.org before 3:00 PM on Tuesday

You can also email amherstschoolcommittee@arps.org. The School Committee will read those messages, though they will not be counted as official public comment.

Let’s show up for the Arts in our schools!

If you’ve ever seen Sharon and I dish out cookies at a Bake Sale, please chime in here and now to dish out your best strongly worded opinions for the School Committee. Remember, only the “h” in Amherst is Silent.

Oliver Waldman,

Oliver Waldman is President of Amherst Regional Public Schools Friends of the Performing Arts, and and Amherst Native, Class of ’87