Music. Laughter. Creativity. A community of artists together as one. All of this is palpable as you walk by room 102, the choir room. This joy is one of many being reduced next year due to budget cuts.
Next year, the choir program is forecasted to have a whopping 161 students. Due to budget cuts, the 6-class choir program is to be reduced to .5 FTE, meaning that there will only be three choir classes, meaning that each class will have roughly 54 students. The incoming choir director will be expected to work half-time. When choir students heard about this, they were devastated.
The decision to reduce choir came after the district told the performance arts program at THS that they would be cut by .5 FTE. The axe fell on choir for most likely two reasons: seniority and an upcoming vacancy in the choir director position. However, TTSD never publicly stated why the cut landed on the choir program.
Legally, when making budget cuts, TTSD is supposed to prioritize seniority according to the Tigard-Tualatin Educators Association (TTEA) contract agreement.
When a reduction in force takes place, the district determines which members will be laid off by “Determin[ing] seniority of members to be retained, based on the first day of actual continuous service with the district and will include authorized leaves of absences,” (TTEA contract agreement).
But at what point does class size and professional success outweigh seniority? In the past four years, the choir program has sent various groups and students to state competitions. The program has also sent several students to the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) Honors Choir in previous years, a prestigious ensemble composed of talented musicians from across the state. Such a flourishing program should not be forced to reduce itself to half its size when it is doing amazing, impactful things by giving students opportunities that they could not get elsewhere.
The TTEA contract does not account for the diversity within classes. Just because a teacher has been there longer does not mean that another teacher or class is inferior. Just because a program has existed for longer does not mean that another program that flourishes above it deserves to be slashed.
Tigard’s choir program is one of the most substantial ones in the school at the moment and does not deserve to be on the chopping block. Cutting the program will not only reduce the arts, but also shrink a home, a safe space that students have come to know and love. It will reduce choir students’ opportunities, students who have spent years dedicated to the program and singing.
For more information on how to support the choir program visit @ths.choir on Instagram.
