Michael F. Murphy, Ed.D. Superintendent Rick Catlett Assistant Superintendent Phone: 540-955-6100
Lisa Floyd, Ed.D. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Clarke County Public Schools 309 West Main Street Berryville, Virginia 22611 www.clarke.k12.va.us
Randy Trenary Director of Operations Fax: 540-955-6109
June 5, 2013 Dear Parents, Guardians and Supporters of Music Education, Thank you for your passionate pleas to restore the 1.0 FTE music education position that was eliminated from the Clarke County Public Schools FY14 budget. I’m glad to know there are many folks out there, just like you, who value the arts and the importance of our outstanding music program. Members of the Administrative Team have reviewed the materials presented in the Tuesday, May 21, 2013 “Press Release” put forward by the “Save Clarke Mus1c” group and offer the following comments and observations. First, we must reiterate that the reduction in force (RIF) decision impacting middle school music was NOT exclusively related to middle school music. It was based on a division-wide administrative conversation regarding the importance of K-12 music in our school division and how to best meet the needs of our K-12 student population. This conversation started in November of 2012 and was balanced with the reality of changing student needs, enrollment, and high stakes testing and accountability. We believe that we are a fiscally responsible organization, and in times of prosperity, our ability to “flex” resources to meet the needs of our students and staff is fairly significant. In times of austerity, and the last five years have been challenging, to say the least, our options are far more limited and as such, the impact to programs and people is much greater. The FY14 budget presented many challenges; not all of them, however, were related to “dollars and cents”. Several years ago, we reduced an employee’s contract in a career and technical education program by 50%. This reduction was based on student enrollment, or more specifically, the lack thereof. This year, we again reduced employee contracts and/or prospective employee contracts based on student enrollment. This took place in career and technical education (Technology Education and Agriculture Education) as well as in Music. We also reduced teaching staff in our alternative education program. In each case, the decision was made based on student enrollment. Our commitment to music education remains strong. For instance, the information on Page 2 shows our middle level music offerings for 2012-13 and the anticipated offerings for the 2013-14 school year.
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