Fayette schools ought to have art, music AND reading teachers. If not, then tell us why. | Opinion

There’s been a lot of talk lately in Lexington about an art teacher getting cut at Cassidy Elementary, which has led to more questions about how money is spent in the Fayette County Public Schools.

As most of my readers know, I’m a public school booster. I think people who work in our public schools are heroes who do so much with too little, and in return get almost constant criticism and shame.

But I do have some very basic questions for Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and school board chair Tyler Murphy about how they are spending money and how they communicate how they spend it. Apparently, elementary schools all over the district have had to cut art and music positions, but the district won’t say which schools or what exactly has been cut.

District spokeswoman Dia Davidson said fine arts curriculum is funded through the normal staffing allocations. That means based on regular teacher student ratios, there should be enough money to hire art and music teachers.

“Cassidy Elementary is slated to offer band, orchestra and general music during the 2024-2025 school year,” Davidson wrote in an email. “The SBDM chose to have a Spanish course instead of a fourth fine arts offering for students, so the narrative that fine arts is not being offered at the campus is untrue.”

SBDM is the familiar shorthand for School-Based Decision Making Council. It’s an important group of elected parents, teachers and the principal that reviews and creates school policies and makes numerous decisions, from selecting classroom textbooks to choosing principals.

Each school council makes decisions on staffing based on what their school needs most. For example, they might need to hire a reading or math specialist because too many of their kids struggle with basic skills. That could take away from a fine arts class.

Cassidy, as mentioned, chose to keep a Spanish course after the district decided a few months ago that they would stop funding foreign language teachers at the elementary level and only start in middle school.

Schools have to find extra funding for more teachers where they can. One way they found to do so was the influx of federal COVID dollars, known as ESSER funding. According to Davidson, Fayette County received quite a lot: $11 million in 2020, $48 million in 2023 and $97 million in 2024. Of that $12 million in left.

“In short, the reason that art and music are being cut in some schools is because the school leadership has chosen to keep the learning interventionists who were funded by ESSER,” she said.

“The money for the arts programs was not cut, it is funded at the same level as it was pre-COVID. What has happened is the schools have selected to keep the learning supports for students that were necessary during COVID and directly related to ESSER funding. With ESSER going away, they are not able to budget for both and have to make a choice.”

Davidson said that principals were warned to not use ESSER money for personnel because the funding was temporary, but “many still did,” she said.

So what I am hearing is that schools need funding for art and music teachers as well as learning interventionists. I would like to have asked individual principals about how this has worked in their schools.

But spokeswoman Davidson said the only two people who can speak to the media are Liggins and Murphy because they have “the most insight.” All due respect, but I doubt either one has as much insight into individual schools budgets as a school principal. Davidson denied my requests to speak with a principal or the district’s finance director.

But parents don’t understand why their property tax assessments are going up, why Fayette Schools have a nearly $1 billion budget and why kids can’t learn to read and get music and art instruction at the same time.

This seems like, pardon me, a no-brainer.

We know the effects of music and art on brain development; they are good for all children and in fact help the test scores that our states puts so much emphasis on.

Remember way back in 2011 when Superintendent Stu Silberman insisted on music, foreign language and chess in every elementary school? I do.

As veteran choral teacher Kathleen Balling said in a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday, once again, our most vulnerable students will be the ones who lose out.

“The schools that have student populations that need the arts the most, because families do not have the resources for private lessons, classes, camps, etc., are the ones who are losing out,” she wrote.

“I have taught at three Title I elementary schools since moving to Kentucky. The first one for 13 years , the last 2 years the arts positions were cut from full time to .5 due to enrollment/funding. The second school for a year and the interim principals cut Music and Drama in favor of STEM. The third for 3 years before again, enrollment/ funding lead to the choice of cutting music (a discretionary position).

“SBDMs should not be put in a position to have to choose. It shouldn’t matter the enrollment, every school should have arts educators.”

So here’s some free advice to everyone involved:

▪ Parents, please go to your school’s SBDM meetings. They are open to the public and offer an amazing viewpoint on why and how schools do what they do. By understanding how everything works, you might be able to offer schools more grace instead of constantly complaining about them.

Then run to be one of the parent representatives on the council, or join the school PTA. You can’t complain and not be involved.

▪ Dr. Liggins, you are in the middle of budget planning for next year. We understand it’s very very complicated stuff. Nonetheless, this would be a perfect time to fully explain how Fayette County’s budget works. We know you don’t get enough money from Frankfort. But parents and taxpayers still want to know how many people work in Central Office doing what. They want to know why Henry Clay High School can’t afford beakers in chemistry classes. They want to know exactly what you’re spending money on and why.

Of course, it’s tempting for public officials to try to control the narrative.

But it never, ever works. It creates ill will and a culture of intimidation and fear. Let principals tell us what they’re doing and why so we can understand what’s going on. If parents are really shareholders, then bring them in, don’t shut them out.

Arts and music instruction is one of those rare topics that nearly everyone agrees on.

Let’s make it happen.