Letter: Proposed Cuts to School Music Budget Are Shortsighted

The following letter was sent to Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman, State Representative Mindy Domb; and  State Senator Joanne M. Comerford, on February 27 2024.

I write to you today as a music educator with more than twenty years’ experience teaching young and elementary-aged children. I am deeply concerned about the budget cuts the Town Council has asked our school system to make for the upcoming FY’25, which adversely impact music and special education instruction in the Town of Amherst. In addition to my credentials as a music educator, I am also a taxpayer living in South Amherst, the mother of three children in Amherst Public Schools, and the parent of a child with special needs receiving services in the Amherst school system. Two of my children are currently musicians at the elementary and middle school level, and my youngest looks forward to being in orchestra beginning in the 4th grade. It is deeply disturbing to me that your budget cuts will force the school system to cut funding to these essential programs. 

It is clear, based on decades of federally-funded science into neuroplasticity and brain function, that instrumental music instruction from an early age contributes to significant positive and measurable academic outcomes. These include but are not limited to: improved brain function among neurodiverse populations, higher test scores, decreased behavioral and disciplinary challenges, and higher graduation rates —— particularly among students coming from minority backgrounds. It also has innumerable intangible benefits including improved social and emotional health and well-being. 

The Amherst music program is tremendously important from the perspective of equity and inclusion. The effect of these cuts would be to widen the achievement gap. The earlier that students begin instrumental music instruction, the better. Just ten years ago, our schools had a fully funded music program, where music instruction began in the third grade. Currently, students begin in the fourth grade.  If you were to attend our biannual elementary school concerts, you would see tremendous diversity in the band and orchestra, both of which have high enrollment. There is less diversity to be seen at the middle and high school levels, where small group instruction and lessons were removed by budget cuts several years ago. If Interim Superintendent Slaughter’s newly proposed cuts are approved by the School Committee, Amherst elementary students will be unable to begin instrumental instruction until the fifth grade, unless their families have the resources to provide private lessons. This means that many students will not be able to reach the level of proficiency on an instrument that is required to perform in the middle school band and orchestra programs. This would not be due to lack of ability or talent, but because they are precluded from participating by lack of financial resources to seek private earlier instrumental instruction. Participation in orchestra and band is a great equalizer where, given the opportunity, all children can succeed, regardless of disability, background, or economic status. Our interim superintendent currently proposes robbing Amherst students of this opportunity. Expecting families instead to seek out private formal music instruction puts a financial burden on families that, for many, would be too much to bear.  

Shortly after learning about these proposed cuts to our school budget, I was shocked to read in the Indy that Amherst College has requested an 18-foot sign on town property, with two-foot tall letters directing visitors to the college, and that the town is considering approving this project. It is long past the time that our elected members of the Town Council engage in meaningful discussions with Amherst’s largest landholders  — namely Amherst College and University of Massachusetts Amherst, about P.I.L.O.T. payments to our town. There is a precedent set all over New England in which tax-exempt colleges and universities support their local communities with agreements of reciprocity, making meaningful financial contributions to support local services and school systems. These institutions include Williams College, Brown University, and Yale University, as well as public institutions such as the University of Connecticut and University of Vermont.

The current model of funding for the Town of Amherst is one that is destined for failure. For over a year, our School Committee struggled to approve a fair contract for the town’s hard-working teachers, who spend each day with our children. Now Interim Superintendent Slaughter proposes cuts to the school system’s highly successful special education and well-respected music programs. In a recent newsletter, he touted the achievements of six Amherst High School students who were accepted to this year’s All-State Music Festival to be held in Boston at Symphony Hall on March 23, 2024. However, he seems to be unaware that this achievement is a direct result of our schools’ instrumental music instruction and, also, that the quality of the high school music program is contingent upon the quality of the elementary instrumental music program. Amherst’s instrumental music programs are a rarity in Western Massachusetts. We are one of very few districts in the area that is able to offer such high-quality instrumental instruction. The other local school districts have no string or orchestral programs, and cannot provide students with an opportunity to perform in a symphonic orchestra at the high school level. Amherst’s unique program is one that prepares its students to compete in the Western District and All-State competitions. 

Amherst has long been a town that values education. We are the home to three prominent colleges: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College, and take pride in these respected institutions of higher learning. And yet, the current model of year after year continuing to strip our public schools of the funding they need to provide equitable education to all students, regardless of race, disability, or economic background, is unsustainable. It is also a lose-lose situation for the colleges and the town. We have spent millions in taxpayer dollars on a rotary in South Amherst at the intersection of Rt. 116 and Pomeroy to improve traffic flow between the colleges. We are now re-building the North Amherst Common to beautify the park and make it more attractive to prospective college students and professors. My question is this: what do these investments serve if we do not provide high quality education, including music education and special education services, at our public schools? Who will want to move to this town, with one of the highest regional tax rates, to send their children to under-funded schools? These proposed budget cuts will encourage families of means to seek out private education for their children. The quality of our middle and high school music programs — which currently are a major attraction for families looking to move into our district — will inevitably deteriorate as a result, and families will leave. This will also create challenges for Amherst College and UMass, who are regularly looking to attract high-level candidates to teach and work at their institutions. 

I implore you seek long term budget solutions that will ensure our town’s educational reputation. Stop cutting the funding to our public schools and eviscerating programs that children and families rely on. You are punishing those families most who can least advocate for themselves. It is inequitable, and it has to stop. You must engage Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts to show long-term support to this town, from which they benefit tremendously. Such support would barely leave a dent in these institutions’ multi-billion dollar endowments, and would show a long-term commitment to a thriving town and community. It is the only recipe for long-term success for both the Town of Amherst and the colleges. 

Michelle Prindle

Michelle Prindle is an early childhood music specialist, owner of The Prindle School and a resident of South Amherst