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The dedication and organization to convince the school board on an annual basis to save the elementary strings program is truly astounding!

Perhaps it's time to take that talent and energy to the lawmakers to convince them to save our schools.

Thanks for the complement - sort of.

I'm writing my state legislature and am planning to go to Thursday's meeting at the legislature. But, I'm not about to let our School Board off the hook when there's work we could be doing locally, but the administration does nothing from year to year, excluding the community until when - late March, which does not make sense to me unless you just want to contain the furror to a few weeks and don't mind riding it out yearly. That does not make sense to me and does not help build broad community support for an operating referendum. I do not support threats to elementary strings, school closing, class sizes unless a referendum passes. The Superintendent does not put athletics out there for cuts to sports, nor would I support it.

So, yes, we have to lobby our state legislatures, but we need to be doing something locally that includes referedums, but not only referendums. I suggest those who are energized at the state, work with us at the local level in kind. We could use the support, and there are plenty of ways we can help one another.

While I strongly support changes to school financing, I believe there are areas of education, which Madison values, which can benefit from a mix of funding - taxes, fees, grants, private dollars - to stabilize support for these programs and to "free up" money now to keep class sizes down. However, this takes time, transitions and a Superintendent willing to do this for the arts, which I am still waiting to be convinced he's willing to do, especially after his assault this year on the ten year olds. I remain hopeful but skeptical.

The Superintendent's proposed cuts to Grade 5 strings was even more insulting to the students this year following on the heels of two major cuts to this program as well as the establishment of a community fine arts task force while he protected sports. In January, the School Board unanimously approved the formation of a community fine arts task force with three charges - identify community's values/goals for arts education, identify up to 5 ways to increase low income/minority participation in the arts and recommend funding priorities/strategies for fine arts education. What a way to start a task force - the School Board may want you do address these questions, but we're not going to give you the time to do your work. I hope not.

Elementary strings is only one fine arts class, but has taught up to 2,000 children in one year - more than many of the other music and art classes. So, it's a big course, and it's a foundation course - for band, orchestra, chorus. Plus, 45% of this year's students are minority, 35% are low-income. You are not going to increase participation of low income/minority students in more advanced music and art courses if you cut out the foundation courses. Further, what has been amazing to me since 2002 is how strong the minority and low-income enrollment in elementary strings continues to be as top administrators try yearly to cut it away and string teachers are told not to recruit students, which many used to do in the spring for the following year. I haven't even mentioned the research showing the academic benefits of this type of instruction.

As a community member of the board's fine arts task force, my personal wish is to stabilize and grow our fine arts education. I hope we get the chance to do our work, and respect for doing our work. Again, I'm hopeful, but skeptical.