Baldwin school band programs struggling with staff cuts

My parents paid for a private piano teacher for 7 years for me and a private banjo teacher for my brother. It's one thing for my taxes to pay for acedemic courses but don't raise my taxes to teach some other parent's kid how to play the flute.

As much as I support music - school is for ACADEMIC purposes, and too many tax dollars are already being sucked out by administration before they ever reach the classroom. At this time, I cannot support tax funded music, nor can I support tax funded FOOTBALL either. Tell the Federal government to go straight to H..., do no pass GO and do not collect $200; tell them they can have all their tests that are being taught to, their No Child Left Behing, and even keep their money. My guess is that the unfunded mandates they put on each State cost the State more than the Federal money they send us anyway. They can't even read their own Bills, so why should we think they are intelligent enough to solve local school problems when most of them have been in Washington so long they are completely out of touch with the real world. Now, strike up the Band for that!!!

I could not have said it better and I know that it took a lot of courage for you to say that in these hard times that money should not be spent on music in schools, especially since you are a musician and value that training. My music teacher had the motto as follows: "The richest child is poor without a musical education". I learned to read music just as I learned algebra, trigonometry and solid geometry. I don't think that there was a piece of music that I could not play if I could read the notes. Unfortunately, I have no ear for music and could not identify by sound any key played. I cannot play even the simplest tune by sound. I'd give a lot to be able to do that and am always amazed watching musicians play everything without a sheet of music. This lack of musical talent has been one of the great disappointments in my life because no one loves music more than I do.

Sweet. Let's give up band so all music instruction in Alabama is given by private banjo teachers. Culture at it's finest is alive and well in AL!

Give me a break wrote:

My parents paid for a private piano teacher for 7 years for me and a private banjo teacher for my brother. It's one thing for my taxes to pay for acedemic courses but don't raise my taxes to teach some other parent's kid how to play the flute.

No, we are just saying that when money is "tight" and hard decisions are to be made, that the primary function of the school is to EDUCATE, which would be the basics of reading, writing, math, and science; sorry but the arts do not fall within that core, and neither does football for that matter. Pesonally, I would rather see them get rid of the Superintendent's salary, along with his two assistants and their staff, use that money for the classroom and let the principals and "their" assistants make school decisions. We waste too much money in that Central Office; like yesterday, I got 3 calls on my cell and three calls on my home number from that computer they bought telling me there was no school today. The TV and paper seems to work for everything else, why not that too. Wonder how much that item cost the taxpayers. I'd better stop, as I have too much to do and this list is way too long, but you all get the point.