NORTH KITSAP — Students gathered Friday in front of the North Kitsap School District Superintendent's office to protest the elimination of a music specialist position at Poulsbo Middle School.
Josiah Martin — surrounded (at a distance) by friends holding signs like #musicmatters and "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle does NOT apply to teachers!" — grabbed the microphone and belted out Don McLean's "American Pie." The recurring line about "the day the music died" seemed designed to hammer home the students' disappointment at the decision, which district officials confirmed Friday.
Band teacher Sam Walder will be transferred in the fall to another vacant music position in the district, leaving Poulsbo Middle School's remaining music specialist Julie Gallant to teach both band and choir, according to district spokeswoman Jenn Markaryan.
"With Mr. Walder moving, not only are we losing a very valuable teacher to Poulsbo Middle School eco-system as a whole, we're also losing a lot of extracurricular activities that go along with that," said Andy Jezek, who helped organize the protest.
Jezek, a trumpet player who just completed eighth grade at the school, said the move will result in cuts to programming, larger music classes and loss of practice time for individual sections of ensembles.
"Not to mention now that the choir teacher Ms. Gallant is going to have to teach band as well," he said. "As a whole, we're going to have a less effective choir and band, which doesn't just affect the middle school it affects the high school as well. We take pride in our amazing band at the high school. What happens when new kids come in and they don't know how to play an instrument as well as the kids before?"
In April, the district announced it was a facing a significant budget gap, with the likelihood of position cuts, in the upcoming school year in part because of economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Poulsbo Middle School will lose three teaching positions, including Walder's.
Markaryan said changes to the middle school's music program are driven by a decrease in the number of students signing up for music.
"For the 2020-2021 school year, 90 students signed up for band and choir combined as compared to 210 students who signed up to art as their elective. This includes sixth-grade students who signed up for band," Markaryan said.
Over the past two years, the school has seen reductions in staffing for math, science, English Language Arts and a teacher specialist position. "These reductions have all been driven by enrollment," Markaryan said.
She added that Principal Josh Emmons "has made an effort to keep a diverse and robust offering of electives for students at Poulsbo Middle School as they begin to navigate their career pathways for high school and beyond." Band and choir will continue to be offered at the school, along with other electives, Markaryan said.
Parents in Central Kitsap School District this spring spoke out against a cost-saving decision to delay the start of band and orchestra programs from fifth grade to sixth grade.
North Kitsap does not yet know how many of the teaching positions to be cut will come from retirements and resignations, Markaryan said. No letters noticing layoffs have been issued to date.
Parents and students say Walder is moving to Vinland Elementary School to replace a retiring music specialist there.
The students' protest continued with other performances in front of the building without (apparently) summoning the attention of district administrators. Markaryan said officials would be attending a diploma pick-up event for seniors at Kingston High School and would be "offline" for the afternoon.
Saxophonist Everett Whitemarsh drew appreciative applause with his performance of swing jazz tunes like "April in Paris."
"Music is my life at this point," Whitemarsh said. "I play music every day and I hope when I get older I can get a job that revolves around music."
Others talked about the significance of music beyond the performance aspect.
"It's not just a hobby. It's very personal to me and everyone who showed up," said Oen Nesby, a drummer in the school's jazz band. "The thing that is so heartbreaking about this is that Mr. Walder, not only has he been with us for six years, but kids who are going into middle school and kids who are leaving will not have the same experiences we did."
"For some kids, this is the reason they're going to school," said parent Liesl Lewis. "Academics isn't their thing. Music is."
"We are facing unprecedented unknowns due to COVID-19. These unknowns affect every aspect of the school system," Markaryan said. "Ultimately, in all decisions we make, we must look at what is best for all of our students, families and staff."
Chris Henry reports on education and community news for the Kitsap Sun. Reach her at (360) 792-9219 or christina.henry@kitsapsun.com. Support coverage of local news by signing up today for a digital subscription.
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Students protest cuts to music staffing at Poulsbo Middle School - Kitsap Sun
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