A band of six?

Comments (...)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

SPRING VALLEY — Amid a budget crunch that’s raised the specter of spending cuts at Hall High School, Hall’s band program could be in trouble.   

With Hall officials anticipating a district deficit of $300,000 over the next two years, Superintendent Mike Struna is pressing the school board to decide by Feb. 17 whether it will cut spending or borrow money to shore up the district’s finances.  

Struna told the BCR this week if the board decides to cut spending, “one of many options” would be to drop Hall’s band program in the 2010-11 school year. He indicated that would be a tough decision for the district. 

“Once you drop a program like that, it’s pretty hard to get it back,” Struna said.

The BCR could not reach Hall High School Board President Todd Fanning for comment before press time.

This week, Hall band director Amber Backus spoke to Hall High School Board, giving a snapshot view of the school’s band now – and issuing a few pleas for its future.

Backus told the board Hall’s band program, which dates to 1921, has seen steadily dwindling enrollment since the early 1980s, when there were more than 150 students in the school’s band.

Hall’s band now has an enrollment of just six students.    

“I’ve heard some people say that Hall doesn’t have a band anymore because there’s only six students enrolled,” Backus told the board this week. “I disagree.”

Despite its tiny size, Backus said Hall’s band is as active as any larger school band.   

Students in Hall’s band perform at every home Hall football game, Backus said. They also march in the school’s homecoming parade. This year, Hall’s band was invited to play at a 9/11 memorial at Spring Valley’s John F. Kennedy School, and at a local Special Olympics opening ceremony.  

Backus also talked about her students’ successes.

“I’ve had students walk in the door who could barely even play a note on their instrument. And now they’re performing high school-level literature. I’m very, very proud of that,” she said.

Should Hall drop its band program, even if only for one year, Struna said he’s aware students at Hall and its feeder schools could lose their outlet – and their motivation – to continue music education.

That could hurt what Backus said is an increase in student interest in band at Hall and its feeder schools.

At Spring Valley’s grade schools, Backus said band enrollment has doubled in the last six months. And another feeder school, Ladd, has seen an increase in band enrollment, she said.

At Hall, Backus said 13 students are registered for band next year, with a handful of former band students considering re-joining Hall’s band. Overall, she predicts Hall’s band enrollment could grow to 30 by next year.

And with projected trends for band enrollment at its feeder schools, Backus says Hall’s band could have more than 50 students by 2017.  

“I just want you to know that I’m willing and dedicated to stay here and stick that out,” Backus told the board. “It was my dream back when I was in high school to be a band director ... to have kids have the wonderful experience that I had.”

Hall has long been a revolving door for band directors. Backus, who subcontracts at Hall to teach one to two periods of band – but also is the full-time band director at Spring Valley Elementary District – is Hall’s seventh band director in 13 years.  

She’s worked at Hall for more than a year, and she’s lived in Spring Valley for nearly three years.

“I’ve talked to other music teachers and other people in the community who feel that the band program needs somebody who stays in the community and builds the program back up,” Backus said.

Backus said numbers show area schools in Geneseo, Mendota, Ottawa and Sterling – all who have kept the same band director for 20 or more years – tend to retain a larger band enrollment. 

Struna told the BCR the district must compare the cost of having a band with projected band enrollment in the immediate future.

“We’ll take another look at the numbers, but we’ll have to decide in February,” he said.

Meanwhile, Backus issued the board a plea for the future of band at Hall.

“You can’t really see us in the stands because we’re small right now, but in a few years hopefully you’ll still see us on the field, marching with Red Devil pride,” she said.

Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.

Comments