Waynesboro's proposed school-budget cuts are no longer just abstract numbers. Parents, students and teachers came out in force Tuesday night, with impassioned pleas about what must be saved.
Waynesboro's $31 million school budget does not yet close the entire shortfall, but it still offers nearly a million dollars in potential cuts. They touch everything from transportation to athletics to classroom teachers.
Tuesday night's budget public hearing drew about 100 people. Many of them urged the school board to protect classroom aides, and teaching positions including a full-time band director.
The superintendent recommends allowing that job to go unfilled next year. That could mean one band teacher for Waynesboro's middle and high school, and the end of specialized music instruction.
Drew Ledford, an eighth grade band student, said, "All of us have been working hard for three years. And to take that away, it's just like saying, forget about it, nobody really cares. And it's supposed to be about the students."
Katherine Gregory, a band supporter, stated, "Band teaches self-discipline, and it teaches kids to work together. It garners some other pretty amazing results as well. Students who learn music learn to multitask better, and they get a sense of belonging."
The Waynesboro superintendent warns that even a million dollars worth of proposed cuts leaves a shortfall of $300,000 that might require additional reductions.
School board members have been urging parents and teachers to push their state legislators for some budget relief. They may find out from the General Assembly by the end of this week whether that help is coming.
