(5/1) With pre-registration for school
year 2008-09 classes completed, Catoctin High
School faces the loss of two and one-half
staff positions, including reduction of the
school’s only music teacher slot to a
half-time position. Not enough students
registered for music courses in the fall to
justify a full-time instructor. Some parents
are very concerned that this may mean the end
of the marching band at CHS.
CHS Principal Jack Newkirk stresses that
all staffing is determined on a year-to-year
basis and having to cancel a course one year
does not mean that “it’s gone forever.” School
enrollment is not static. Staff may be lost
one year and regained in the following one.
Besides the change in music staffing, CHS
gained half a staff position in science, and
lost slots in English, math, and targeted
intervention.
“Staffing changes also do not mean firing,”
though sometimes a teacher will have to change
schools or work at two schools. (Catoctin’s
music teacher, Matthew Curran, has been with
the school since 2001.) Newkirk adds that “our
goal is to keep programs.” He has met with the
Catoctin Music Boosters to consider options
for next year. Two other high schools in
Frederick County, Middletown and Walkersville,
have already faced this issue and maintain
marching band as an after-school activity
without a classroom component.
If marching-band continues solely as an
after school activity, the Music Boosters will
have to provide all of the financial support
to hire a director, an assistant, and coaches
for the color guard and percussion section.
President Mike Krouse says that while their
budget is currently in good shape, they will
have to increase their fundraising efforts to
cover personnel costs. He and the rest of the
board members are exploring the possibility of
corporate sponsorship, and opportunities for
fundraising in conjunction with the carnival
and Colorfest.
Without classroom instruction, booster
volunteers will also have to organize
additional out-of-school practice time during
the summer prior to band camp in August.
Krouse believes that “there is a lot of
support for the band in Thurmont and
Emmitsburg,” but added that parents and
students need to understand that “if they want
their marching band to continue [in the
future], they have to sign up for the course.”
Frederick County high school students often
have very little flexibility in scheduling
their classes each year. With the
establishment of four 90-minute-period “block”
schedules in the mid-1990’s, students are
limited to four courses per semester. Many of
their courses must fulfill credit requirements
in English, math, social studies, and science
needed for graduation. More students are
choosing to include Advanced Placement classes
to get a head start on college-level work.
Some students need extra time to prepare for
the demands of tests now required for
graduation. This leaves many students with
less time available for elective classes such
as music and art.
