It was inspiring to see so many people stand up for strong publicly-funded music education at a
recent special meeting of the SD-61 school board , who are currently undergoing changes to their budgeting practice. This accounting change, along with dwindling revenue from international students last year, has left a 7-million-dollar hole to fill. One of the largest areas to be slashed is elementary and middle school band, strings, and choir. This would result in a net loss of 12 full time music teaching positions in our district.
Director of Music, Donald Hunt, recently wrote to the school board trustees to voice his concern for the future of music education in Victoria:
Restricting band programs to grade 8 and up, eliminating elementary string programs, and axing about twelve music teaching positions will have knock-on effects on the high school programs into which they feed. This will, in turn, have catastrophic effects on our local musical organizations, including the Victoria Symphony, Victoria Baroque, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Christ Church Cathedral Music, who draw from these groups.
No curricular cuts are acceptable when it comes to public education of our children. We need to be educating and edifying our youth abundantly with the greatest diversity possible. In a year where the arts have been ravaged by a pandemic, in-person concerts are impossible, we have witnessed people seeking out music and arts via online performances on a huge scale. Please do not diminish the importance of music in this world.
Imagine a world without history, language, science, math. It’s impossible. A world without music is equally unthinkable.
Victoria’s music scene punches above its weight, and is continuing to pick up steam. As supporters of the arts in this city, this is something we should all be proud of. Let’s not let these devastating cuts kill our momentum!
How can I help?
Numerous letters have already been written to the trustees and to our MLAs, but it's not too late to show your support. For our voices to be heard, we need to keep these supportive letters coming until the budget is voted on (May 17).
Letters can be sent to:
and your local MLA:
