Even to people not interested in music, the Haines Borough School District’s decision to lay off Jason Muccino felt like a gut shot.
The most common reaction hasn’t been criticism of the district or support for music generally or for Muccino in particular. It’s been more personal. What people are saying is that this dismissal is a statement about us – about who we are – and it’s inaccurate. This is not who we are.
As the district’s only full-time music teacher, Muccino is responsible for teaching music in grades 5-12, including leading the band, pep band and choir groups. It’s a big job and a difficult one, as shown by the pattern of turnover in the job before Muccino was hired two years ago.
The district said its plan – to replace Muccino with an existing staffer – would save the district money without compromising the quality of the music program.
The latter part of that claim is difficult to believe. Muccino isn’t universally loved, but he’s popular enough that some students who previously quit the band joined back up. And the band sounds great. Moreover, as the district makes future cuts it’s logical that music would be targeted, as it’s not a required program.
Having students excited about music is an achievement in a town this small. Actually, in this day and age in a town this size, just having a school music program is an achievement. A program that is strong is like a ball of light that fell from the sky and landed in your backyard that’s been keeping your whole house warm since you brought it indoors.
You’d sooner hack off your arm than see it go away. Last week, three or four people said to me, “How much money do they need? I’ll write a check.”
So Wednesday’s action by the school board reaffirming the superintendent’s dismissal of Muccino isn’t the end of this discussion. It’s likely just the beginning of a long conversation about the future of music and art in our schools.
Already there are ideas: Joining with districts in Klukwan or Skagway or both to create a multi-school music program, creating an independently funded Chilkat Valley School of Music that would lease space at the school, increasing the borough contribution to the district for music and removing music from the school’s instructional program, or creating an endowment for the music program through the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation.
There are likely myriad other ideas and they should all be discussed, soon.
What was striking this week was how deeply concerned people were about this decision, arguably more concerned than they might be if the district let go a math or English teacher? Why?
Maybe it’s because music arrives in a different part of our brains and holds meaning for us that we can’t easily express. Maybe it’s because we are running out of bragging rights as our school shrinks and our town’s economy tightens. Maybe it’s because music has caught on in this town, in a way you can see during concerts, parades, the Southeast Alaska State Fair, in bars and just about everywhere else.
It’s hard to know for sure why this decision was felt so deeply, but it was, and judging from that reaction, I’d say our quality music program is safe. We may have to find a new way to provide it and to pay for it. We may have to tap a lot of creativity and more than a few bank accounts.
But the music is here to stay, because people value it.
Posted March 3, 2017