An East High Student wrote Bill Keys, MMSD School Board president. In her letter she wrote:
“The reason I am involved in the high school orchestra today is
because I was able to participate in the elementary strings program
in elementary school….I am the oldest child of thirteen children. The youngest is about two months old today. All of my siblings following me up to the fifth grade play the violin in school. This was made possible because we were all given the chance to participate in the ever-wonderful Elementary Strings program that started in elementary school.”
Mr. Keys’ began his response, “First, to clarify: it is only at the 4th and 5th grade level that the strings program has been recommended bythe staff for cut should the referendum fail.”
Mr. Keys, I think it is you who need the clarification.

I am a senior from Madison East High School and I play the violin in
East’s Symphony Orchestra. I am concerned about the Elementary strings for the Madison public school district being cut.
The reason I am involved in the high school orchestra today is
because I was able to participate in the elementary strings program
in elementary school. I started playing the violin when I was in
fourth grade in Lindbergh Elementary school and Hawthorne Elementary. Then I continued orchestra at Black Hawk middle school where I found my true talent in playing the violin and decided to complete all four of my high school years by staying in orchestra, directed by the most wonderful teacher Ms. Jackie Dhoore Becker.
With this beautiful talent that I learned, I have had the chance to
be up on stage to perform and participate in Solo Ensemble events and win awards from it. I have been able to be a volunteer to play the violin at the Madison Free Will Baptist church as a solo for a few
years too.
Without the Elementary Strings Festival, I wouldn’t have made any of
these accomplishments in my life that have made me become the great person that I am now. They say that music makes a student have an improved academic achievement. I believe that this saying is true. Learning music is like learning a new subject in school everyday.
You improve with the more practice time that you spend with your
instrument, along with that you learn more things that help with
achievement.
I am the oldest child of thirteen children. The youngest is about
two months old today. All of my siblings following me up to the
fifth grade play the violin in school. This was made possible
because we were all given the chance to participate in the
ever-wonderful Elementary Strings program that started in elementary school.
I really hope that the much-loved and well-established strings
program will not be cut from the Madison School District. I would
want all the younger children including all my youngest siblings to
be able to participate in the strings program and have the beautiful
talent of performing like me.
I know that my e-mail will make a difference in the choices that the
School District will be making for my future, and the children’s
future.
Thank you for you time.
Bill Keyes response:
Thank you for your email. First, to clarify: it is only at the 4th
and 5th grade level that the strings program has been recommended bythe staff for cut should the referendum fail.
While I do understand your passion about music and the arts–I taught English for 36 years and always included the visual, performance, and musical arts in my teaching of literature–the reality is that programs are inevitably going to pitted against each other. At schools departments are fighting with other departments over reduced allocations. Regarding strings, my grandson will be entering 4th grade next year at Randall, so I realize that his opportunity to participate in the fine strings program there is in jeopardy. But there are no donors offering over $500K to continue the program. The recommendations of DPI do not bring in any money.
Given the state budget system, all programs are vulnerable except
those mandated by law. The WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL on March 31, 2005 in its editorial provides a fuller explanation of why neither the MMSD administration nor the Board is to blame.
For every program we save, however, we must cut other programs to stay within the revenue limits. We highly value each of the items
proposed for cutting–as do students and parents, not matter what
they are. But the fiscal reality is that we must cut $8.6 million in
order to stay within the state imposed revenue caps unless we can
pass the Board approved referenda.
We will have already cut $1.2 million by the time we approve the
operating referendum question. We will be looking for approval to
exceed the caps by $7.4 million. Without the passage of an
operations referendum this year, and then the next, and so on, any
program not mandated or central to our Board priorities is subject to be cut.
This is a statewide problem, and Madison is not exempt from the
pressures facing all districts, many of which are now near total
bankruptcy, and some of which are likely to close within a year.
Bill