According to an article written by Ryan Hurley on www.weac.org, since 1993, when legislators imposed revenue caps on public schools, school districts have been forced to make some hard decisions about ways they can cut back spending. Music and art programs were usually among the first to receive severe blows.
Hurley explains in the article, more than 10 years later, the slashing of music and art programs is continuing in dramatic fashion. In addition to revenue controls, the recent Elementary and Secondary Education Act (often referred to as the No Child Left Behind law) imposed by the Bush administration has put music and art programs in rough shape and left with a dim future. In hopes of reducing the budget, school districts throughout the state are taking drastic measures by cutting out pieces of art and music programs and in some cases eliminating teaching positions completely.
Musical instructor, David Seifert, expresses his views about the political aspects that currently have a negative effect on his school’s music department.
“Unfortunately, it can be tough [to teach music], because today’s times are different,” said Seifert, who currently teaches at a middle school. “There are a lot of politics in teaching and not enough money is funded to our schools,” elaborated Seifert.
