E.J. Gall has limited vision in one eye, and cannot play sports.His mother, Gayle, said the only extra-curricular activity E.J. canparticipate in is band and chorus.
Gall and about three dozen parents and students - includingseveral in the third grade - pleaded with the Crestwood School Boardin a three-hour marathon meeting to save the elementary musicteaching position, seven other teaching positions and a middleschool nurse.
Facing a $1 million deficit, the board voted 5-3 - with onemember absent - to slash nine teaching positions, including sixelementary school teachers. Superintendent Dave McLaughlin-Smithsaid the elementary music program will be 'altered,' but did notknow how Thursday.
Board members Ken Malkames, Bill Thomas and Dave Ralston votedagainst the teacher cuts.
The board voted 6-2, with Malkames and Ralston voting no, toapprove the $32 million budget, which maintains the current 9.16-mill property tax rate.
The elementary music school teacher's position was eliminated,but she will bump into the position of another teacher who had lessseniority.
Several students and parents said music and other extra-curricular activities are an integral part of the education process.
They not only pleaded to save the elementary music program, whichconsisted of a band and a chorus, but also pleaded to save middleschool foreign languages and sports. But McLaughlin-Smith said thoseprogram would not be affected by the budget.
One Crestwood graduate said his discovery of music led him tobecome a music major in college.
Several of the parents who spoke said they would rather payhigher taxes to maintain the level of education Crestwood has becomeknown for.
At the beginning of the meeting, Malkames said he wanted to tablethe action so that the board could further examine the budget, tosee if the changes proposed could be altered.
If the board is able to find funds to save the positions, thebudget could be altered, Thomas said before voting.
One diabetic eighth-grader said she needs the middle school nursewhen she feels ill.
One cheerleader said she and her group paid most of theirexpenses out of pocket. A softball player, the last speaker, criedas she said her sport, cheerleading and field hockey were the onlysports for girls.
The evening began at 5 p.m., when about two dozen parents andteachers picketed in front of the high school along state Route 309with signs that had 'Kids, Cuts and Compassion' printed on them, andother messages about cutting the programs handwritten in blackmarker.
jdino@standardspeaker.com
