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CBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Parents ask Regina school board trustees to delay band program cuts
Social Sharing Parents of students in Regina Public Schools's (RPS) elementary band program say they're not asking for recently announced cuts to be reversed, but would like them to be delayed. A delegation of parents spoke with school board trustees at a standing-room-only meeting at the division's board office Tuesday. The parents say they've hired a consultant to gather data about the program, which serves students in Grades 6 though 8. They want the board to put off reassigning teachers until the consultant has presented his findings. RPS says it plans to reassign about a third of its elementary band teachers to new positions this fall. It comes as the division faces a $2.65-million deficit. The division says the move is the result of government funding not keeping up with inflation. RPS director of education Mark Haarmann previously told CBC News the new contract between teachers and the government means more money has to be given to fund classroom complexity clauses. The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation says new money from the government, plus the addition of 515 new teaching positions, are being provided for that. Board welcomes consultant's report Several trustees told the delegation that their own children are in, or have been in, band. But they say technical papers for the division's upcoming budget were substantially delayed by the new teachers' contract, which put pressure on RPS to come up with a budget in a short amount of time. Trustee Brandon-Shea Mutala said he's heard from many of his constituents about the cuts. "Every email that's came across my desk, I've read," Mutala said. He said the cuts to band make up about $450,000 of the $2.65-million shortfall. "The original number that was proposed to us was steeper for cuts," he said. "When we sat down and we got our first numbers for the budget as a board, we sent them back and said we have to do better. So from the beginning we have been fighting." WATCH | Parents ask Regina school board trustees to delay band program cuts: Parents ask Regina school board trustees to delay band program cuts 18 minutes ago Duration 2:37 Parents of band students in Regina Public Schools say they've hired a consultant to review the program and discuss solutions with the school division. Board chair Adam Hicks reiterated elementary band is just one area facing cuts this coming year. "In eight of the nine years I've been on this board, we've had to look at cuts every single year," said Hicks. "I wish and I hope for one year where we could actually talk about dreaming a little bit." Hicks said he welcomes the consultant's review and hopes to follow up with the parents before the board meets again on June 24 to vote on the next school year's budget. Christina Carlson, president of Sheldon Williams Area Music Parents, said she was grateful to hear the trustees' personal connection to band. "I think we have a little bit of room to grow with our alignment [of] how to get the best outcome over the next couple of weeks," Carlson said. "I'm excited that they're not making any final decisions right this moment and we have a bit of opportunity to work together, potentially with some more collaboration." Solutions are possible, consultant says John Benham is the consultant the parents have hired to review RPS's elementary band program. Benham, who lives in Minneapolis, has spent the past four decades working with school divisions around the world to prevent cuts to music education. He said he'll analyze how many teachers and students are in RPS's program and how economically viable it is. A summary of his findings will be presented at a meeting on Saturday, which will list the items that should be studied to improve the program. Benham said RPS's claims of a budget shortfall and band teachers needed elsewhere to satisfy classroom complexity requirements don't add up. "I have a hard time accepting this as a financial issue," Benham said. "They're stating … nobody's going to lose their job. Well if they're not going to lose their job, how are they going to save any money?" One solution, Benham said, could be to add band to existing elementary arts education classes, which the Ministry of Education provides as a curriculum option. "So the answer's right there," he said. "It's just we need to do something in this [school] district to facilitate that." Benham spoke with a group of RPS elementary band teachers earlier in the week. He said that while the division has been co-operative in providing data to him, some teachers were fearful of the meeting. "They had been told 'Do not share the fact that you're being cut with anybody,'" he said. "The idea of intimidation and concealing of relevant information from the teachers and or the public to me is very questionable."
CBC
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Band program cutbacks in Regina public elementary schools worry parents, students, educators
Social Sharing Students, parents and educators are worried about the future of music education in Regina in light of cutbacks announced by the local public school division. Regina Public Schools (RPS) says it's undertaking a restructuring of its elementary band program for the upcoming school year, with 4.5 of its 14 elementary band teaching positions affected and those teachers being reassigned to other positions. Mark Haarmann, RPS's director of education, said it comes as his division works through a deficit of more than $2 million. He said RPS is scrambling to finalize its budget, which was delayed by the new Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation contract. With more money in the contract dedicated to classroom size and complexity, Haarmann said other budget items must be trimmed. "It'll be a question of doing a little bit more with less, but that's something we're seeing across the division," Haarmann told CBC News Monday. He said it's not just band facing changes — he pointed to the closure of an intensive support classroom as one example — but that band is offered to students "above complement" and teaching resources are needed elsewhere. "So you have daily programming and band takes students out above that in elementary," Haarmann said. "The removal of 14 teachers means larger classrooms for other teachers across the system." Willam and Alex Carlson are both in band at Sheldon Williams Collegiate in Regina. The brothers — who started in band in Grade 6 — worry what the restructuring will mean for future band students. "If they want to … be in band, then it's going to be harder for them to do that if they don't get enough attention from the teacher, because they need to teach a bunch of other kids," Alex said. "A lot of my friends in band love music so much," Willam said. "They want to be part of this wider music community we have in Regina and I feel like a starting point for all of that … was back in elementary school when they first got to pick up an instrument." Elementary band 'where the magic starts,' educator says Brent Ghiglione, director of bands for the University of Regina, taught in Regina public schools for years. He said elementary band is crucial for developing future musicians. "We teach them all the fundamentals of playing a woodwind, brass or percussion instrument," Ghiglione said. "That's where the magic starts." Ghiglione met with Haarmann recently to discuss the band program changes. Ghiglione said he doesn't see a viable plan for the program once the restructuring is done. "I know once we cut, it'll never come back," he said. "It's going to hurt our community for years and years and years." Suzanne Gorman, CEO of the Saskatchewan Band Association, said the changes could impact not just musicians, but also community music groups and people who attend music events. Gorman said band has benefits for kids that go beyond the classroom. "It strengthens their results in English, math, some other sciences," she said. "They have higher attendance rates and they have a higher rate of continuing on into post-secondary education." Gorman said band teachers work hard to be as inclusive as possible for all students — from those with complex needs to new Canadians finding a way to fit in. "Band is a really great encompassing environment for that." Petition, school board meeting among advocacy efforts Willam and Alex Carlson's mother, Christina Carlson, has also seen the impact band has had on her boys. "My kids actually thrive in other academics because they have these outlets of these program," Christina said. "It allows them to have a safe space to experiment and to fail and to try things new." Carlson, president of Sheldon Williams Area Music Parents, is rallying with other elementary band parents across Regina to present their case at the Regina Public Schools board meeting on June 10. "There seems to be a lot of confusion around how this has been communicated, so we would really like some clear messaging," Carlson said. Taryn Luterbach started an online petition calling for the changes to be reversed. As a bassoon player who was in the U of R's wind ensemble for more than 10 years, she said music helped her start her own artist management agency. "Over the past year, I've had the amazing opportunity to travel all over North America and meet influential people from some of the best orchestras," Luterbach said. "I never would have been able to be in this position if I wouldn't have participated in band." As of Tuesday afternoon, her petition had nearly 4,500 signatures. Luterbach said the situation is starting to garner international attention, including from artists she represents through her agency. "If it's OK for music education to be cut here, then everyone's at risk," she said. Haarmann said some consultation was done with principals and other division staff about the changes, but that it's impossible to speak with every band teacher ahead of time. He said work is now underway to support the remaining elementary band teachers. He also said it's worth reviewing the program to see what larger changes might need to happen. "We have somewhere around 40 per cent of Grade 6s that are in the band program," Haarmann said. "By the start of Grade 8, that's about 17 per cent.
