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Voice of The Southern:
Don’t throw art, music education under (budget) bus

Our View: It doesn't make sense to deny the best possible education to any class of students, certainly not those with gifts for art and music.

Schools across our region are feeling the pinch from reductions in state funding for education. It's a sign of the times, one that has educators scrambling for solutions that preserve jobs and the best-possible learning environment for students.

As we reported in Monday's newspaper, the financial crunch recently prompted the Cairo Unit School District 1 Board of Education to cut art, music, other elective programs and staff. Such a drastic step hasn't yet been taken in Marion or Carbondale schools, but it will not be possible for some districts to operate without cutting expenses.

The Marion Unit 2 School District is already more than $3 million in the red. Some expenses will need to be cut, but which ones? Frank Barbre, an interim associate superintendent for the district, explained all options will be considered and the district will have to decide which cuts will affect students the least.

Carbondale Community High School District is less reliant on state than local funding; 25 to 30 percent of the budget comes from the state. Other districts rely on state funds for 85 and 90 percent of their budgets. Still, Superintendent Steve Murphy conceded the district feels the impact of reduced state funding.

Based on what recently happened in Cairo and elsewhere nationwide in districts facing revenue shortcomings, there is reason to fear art and music education will face the sharpest budget knives. Yet it might be the worst possible strategy for this time of tight money, one that ignores other sources of revenue for art and music studies.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon also is concerned a trend may develop. "I understand that everyone's budget is in a pinch, from the federal government down to the school districts," Simon told The Southern Illinoisan. "But as a passionate supporter of the arts, I see the connection between the arts and the rest of school. In particular, that music-math connection is significant for a lot of kids."

Simon is correct. Studies show a convincing link between musical prowess and improved math skills, and there is no shortage of real-life anecdotal evidence on the value of art and music studies for some students.

Education is not a one-size-fits-all process. Some students first find success through creative pursuits in music and art, and then apply the discipline required, for examples, to play the violin or paint a landscape, to other fields of study. Success breeds success.

Additionally, some students are gifted in music and art, just as others are gifted with physical prowess on the playing fields. With cutbacks in their lone areas of expertise, students with the potential for genius in their chosen sphere are stopped at the starting line.

The amount of money devoted to athletic programs, especially football and basketball, is consequential in many school districts, so it is difficult for the parents of children with special skills in music and art to understand why such skills are less valued than athletics. There are more people succeeding at the highest levels of life due to art and music ability than youthful achievements with a football or basketball.

Districts that will face Cairo-like dilemmas in the coming year might seriously look at cutting the budget for interscholastic sports and using the savings to preserve art, music and other elective programs. That doesn't, however, mean the end for our beloved prep rivalries and Friday night football rituals at the old ball yard. Alternative sources of funding can be developed for the revenue-producing sports, sources that do not exist at the same level for art and music.

Community organizations, booster clubs, private benefactors and sponsorship agreements might fill the gap - letting the games continue for our student athletes and allowing the student artists and musicians a platform for pursuing their creative dreams. We're all in this together. Let's not blindly follow the path of least resistance. It's time to work together creatively for the benefit of all students.