Bob CollinsLet’s follow up on last month’s post asking when music in schools is going to get a little respect.
The answer in South Washington County, which sparked the post because it intended to cut music programs in elementary schools, is: tonite.
The school board is expected tonight to pull back its threat to cut the music programs as well as reading and special education as a way to erase an $8 million budget shortfall, the Woodbury Bulletin reports.
It did so after the public reaction to the proposed cuts.
Instead, the district — District 833 — will further draw down its rainy day fund and cut 25 jobs, eliminate world language in elementary schools, suspend standardized testing, hold off on buying buses, and increase student activity fees by $10.
The district plans to seek a levy increase and will look to the state for increased funding in order to avoid those additional $3.4 million in cuts in 2016-17, the Bulletin says.
