Every year, Monroe fights tooth and nail over the budget for the next school year. As expected, sports gets quite a lot handed to them on a silver platted but the music program is kicked to the curb without a second glance. The group that is hit the hardest due to the lack of funds is the String Orchestra, which I am concert mistress of. Back when I started my high school career, the entire music department ( Chorus, Band, and Strings ) got 5,000 dollars to split amongst themselves. This hardly even covered music for that year and replacing a broken instrument was nearly out of the question. Now, four years, a teacher from each middle school band and chorus ( One school is for grades 5-6 and the other is for 7-8 ) would be handed that dreaded pink slip and the remaining teacher would have to cover both schools.

Strings has it even worse. The 5th and 6th grade string orchestra, the largest of all the groups in our school system, is being thrown into the trash. My current strings teacher has been my teacher since I began strings in 4th grade. Back then she taught every single grade and still managed to take care of her two young daughters with the help of her husband. The school system made her stop teaching them all and now they are cutting them even after she has offered to take the position up again in order to save her students.

In the end, trying to change the minds of every person in the Board of Education is quite a difficult task. Every year we fight and fight in order to save a program that means the world to us. Every year we work our hardest for our concert in the vain attempt that a Board of Education rep. would show up and hear and understand the effort we put forth for our group. Every year nothing changes and we get pushed back into that closet where the broken toys go and then are never seen again. This year was a bit different though. We are told each year that the reason for our cuts were due to the lack of money. Today, December 10th 2008, I walked into the lobby of my high school to see a brand new HD wide, flat screen TV hanging on the wall. I stared in awe. We cut the music programs, that have been proven to help in student success, but we need a TV in the lobby for kids to watch the announcements on instead of watching them in class where they are supposed to be? Every classroom has a TV which is never used. Why would we need one in the lobby when we are not allowed in the hallways anyway during class time?

Music Education. Psh. Who needs that? We need that new T.V.

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