Parsippany Board of Ed Cuts Music Teachers

I was saddened to see that our School Board and Administration this evening confirmed that they will be cutting 2 full time music teachers from next year’s school budget, further degrading the quality of education in Parsippany’s school system.  

Despite the eloquent pleas from parents and students, the Parsippany Hills School board decided to approve the cuts to the program as outlined in the budget, which will result in semi-private group lessons increasing from 3 to 4 students to projections of 10 or so.  This will certainly degrade the quality of music education in Parsippany’s public schools, as music teachers will be stretched, working between schools and providing minimal instruction in overcrowded instrumental lessons.  

It was discouraging and surprising to see how many school board members and administrators fail to comprehend that instrumental lessons require a smaller group size than an academic classroom. 

It is widely understood and documented that music education is strongly correlated with excellence in Science and Math.  At a time when parents are being encouraged to get their children involved in music, to inspire a new generation of scientists, doctors and engineers, this action by the Board of Education seems counterintuitive and ill-informed.   It’s unfortunate that these cuts will follow a pattern that continues the downward spiral of what was, until recently, regarded as an excellent school system.  

Kudos to Sharif Shamsudin, Frank Neglia, Joe Cistaro and Gary Martin, who voted to investigate if there was a way of reallocating funds to preserve these teaching positions without increasing the budget.  It was very disappointing that the majority of board members chose not even to entertain Mr. Shamsudin’s motion.