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GWINN - Brendan Espinosa said he'll lose most of his after-school activities if proposed cuts to the Gwinn school district's budget go through.
The 16-year-old participates in swimming, cross country and chorale. He credits his extracurricular activities for his exceptionally high standardized test scores and said they are among the best experiences of his life.
"I'm extremely certain that wouldn't have happened if I weren't in the arts," Espinosa said. "If you just sit there (in classes) all day where it takes a lot of effort to understand things, your brain just fries."
A budget proposal on the table in Gwinn would cut swimming, cross country, golf, wrestling and tennis. Art classes at elementary, middle and high school levels would be cut, along with a middle school technology class. Sixth-grade jazz band would be eliminated, and seventh- and eighth-grade bands would be merged.
Espinosa was among 150 people attending Monday's school board meeting, during which many students and teachers spoke out against the cuts.
"We do sell a product. We pretty much sell the whole high school package," said computer-aided design and drafting teacher Joe Routhier. "When the quality of the product dips, you worry about your sales."
The board had two meetings Monday: a budget work session and a discussion of school infrastructure options.
Due to declining enrollment, the board is considering closing the middle school and moving those students to classrooms created from renovating the high school pool area.
Superintendent Mike Maino presented possible floor plans to the board, detailing eight classroom spaces, including one science room, that would be created in the pool area.
In order to perform the renovations, the district needs about $1.1 million, which the board hopes to obtain through a millage election for 1 mill to be levied for five years.
"We want eight rooms to put the kids in and we're not looking for anything else," Maino said.
The middle school currently houses 221 students, and the move to the high school would keep class sizes for the middle school at the same level they are now, board President Walter Maki said.
The board needs to approve millage language by mid-May to place the request on the Aug. 4 ballot. If the millage is approved, the students would be moved in the fall of 2010.
The move would save the district about $150,000 in operating costs annually.
If the millage failed, the board would need to look at closing one of the elementary school buildings, Maino said.
The motion to begin drafting ballot language was approved unanimously.
Potential cuts to arts and sports programs drew the most public comment at the meeting.
"I decided music was going to be my career in the eighth grade," senior Austin Peters said. "Music is not just something you do in the classroom or on the marching band field ... it's a vocation."
Peters told the board he credited skills learned in the middle school jazz band program, one of the targets of the budget cuts, that allowed him to land two music-related jobs in the area.
"I would have been another bum high schooler with no job and no gas in his tank," Peters said.
Parents also attested to the strength of the music and arts programs, and asked that the board wait to decide the cuts.
"I don't think we need to be the first ones to make these cuts," said Jamie Walker, who was part of the ad hoc committee that worked on the decision regarding the middle school. "I think this right now is the time for you to hold of on cutting the arts ... and get the community involved."
Students also spoke out in support of so-called "minor sports" like cross country, swimming and wrestling.
During its work session, the board discussed the possibilities of those teams seeking out independent funding in order to keep playing.
"We're not cutting out the sports, we're eliminating the funding," Maino said.
Maino said at least three of the sports teams had already begun exploring other funding options.
Board members reminded the audience that the proposed cuts are not a package deal, and the board will make a decision designed to benefit the entire district, not just for the next year but for the next 10 years.
The board plans to meet next Monday to discuss language for hiring a financial advisor for an energy performance contract.
