D65 board could eliminate music program tonight

By Stephanie Chen

The Daily Northwestern

When Lilly Saywitz, 10, heard she would not have band in school anymore, she was afraid she would stop playing string bass.

“I was upset because I attend Hebrew school and have swim lessons after school,” said Saywitz, who attends the fourth grade at Orrington Elementary School. “I was worried that I wouldn’t do it anymore until I got to middle school.”

For students like Saywitz, who have conflicting extracurricular activities, or others who cannot afford after-school lessons, a district proposal may spell the end to their participation in the music program. The Evanston/Skokie District 65’s school board will consider a proposal tonight that may eliminate the instrumental music program and possibly change it to an after-school fee-based program in an effort to save money.

The meeting will take place at 8 p.m. at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave. Upset parents, teachers and employees will march across the street from the meeting starting at 7 p.m. at King Lab School, 2424 Lake St.

Changing the instrumental music program to an after-school fee-based program would save the district $295,529, said Lutaf Dhanidina, D65’s chief financial officer.

Although D65 board member Mary Erickson said music is an essential part of D65, she said the proposal is just another way to balance the $1.7 million deficit.

“At least we won’t have to cut the program completely,” Erickson said.

If the proposal passes, music teachers for the fourth and fifth grade may leave next year.

D65 Board member Julie Chernoff said she is pushing to keep the instrumental music program, because she does not want to see the music program open only to the upper classes.

“There are budget cuts that need to be made and we’ll just have to see what happens on Monday, ” Chernoff said. “Hopefully we can keep Evanston strong in the arts.”

Haven Middle School strings teacher Jim Janossy said he is worried that enrollment in music classes will drop because many low-income or minority students may not be able to afford instrument rentals and lessons.

But Lynn McCarthy, assistant superintendent for school operations, said the district’s scholarship instruments, given to students who are unable to pay for their own instruments, still will be available for rental.

The district, though, will try to subsidize the cost for low-income students, McCarthy said.

The board’s approval of the proposal would result in a readjustment of the sixth-grade music curriculum, Janossy said. He said schools will have to lower standards to compensate for the lack of foundational instruction.

Janossy also said many neighboring districts like New Trier and Lincolnwood continue to preserve and improve their elementary school instrumental music programs.

Two years ago D65 cut the strings program from third grade. D65 parent Wendy Mohrenweiser said she noticed the difference in strings skills when her younger son was not able to start strings until fourth grade.

“Strings are much more complicated,” she said. “They really need that extra year.”

Mohrenweiser’s seventh-grade son, Matthew Mohrenweiser, who attends Haven Middle School, said his elementary experience in band encouraged him to continue on the clarinet in middle school.

“I was really busy after school then,” he said. “If they made it after school, I probably wouldn’t have chosen music.”

Wendy Mohrenweiser said she believes an after-school program will be too costly for some students. If the proposal passes, she said she will give her children additional private lessons, which already cost her $75 to $100 a week.

Even if students can afford the lessons, Margaret Philbrick, D65 music department co-chairwoman, said students already are bombarded with after-school sports and clubs.

Philbrick said many students see music as an outlet and a break in their school day.

“Yes, kids come to school to read and write,” she said. “But without music, art and drama, they’ll get burned out real quick.”