A Pretty Sad State of Affairs

On MercuryNews.com today:
The day the music died in Redwood City schools:

“…Vivian Euzent will lift her baton this evening to lead the Kennedy Middle School concert band in ‘Drums On A Budget.’

She hadn’t planned the irony -- but it will be her last concert with the Redwood City Elementary School District. And it will be the last concert for all 800 district students whom Euzent and three other teachers have taught to play violins, flutes, trumpets and, yes, drums during the past decade.

For all of those students, the music is over. When voters failed to pass a parcel tax this month by a narrow margin, the district, which has cut $8 million from its budget in five years, made the heartbreaking decision to eliminate instrumental music teaching in its 15 schools.

This San Mateo County school district is not alone. Music and art programs sit on a fragile edge as educational funds retreat. Many districts nationwide now depend on the help of volunteers and foundations to sustain arts education.

In the South Bay, parent boosters keep alive Buchser Middle School’s music program in Santa Clara. Cupertino, recently named one of the 100 best communities for music education in America, depends on the Cupertino Education Endowment Foundation. San Jose’s Eastside Union High School District kept its music instruction afloat by sacrificing summer school at seven of its 12 schools.…”