GBSD board vote — May 13, 2026

GBSD is cutting elementary music from every K-5 school — and permanently damaging all K-12 programs.

The proposed budget eliminates classroom music in all nine Gresham-Barlow elementary schools. That single decision will collapse middle school band and choir within two years and gut high school ensembles within five — ending sixty-plus years of K-12 musical excellence in our district.

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9 elementary schools affected•17 programs in the pipeline•K through 12

Voices from GBSD

Why elementary music matters.

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Parent • elementary

“My kid found music in second grade. Don't take that from the next class.”

My daughter discovered she could sing in second grade. Her music teacher noticed and put her in the choir club. She is now in middle school and choir is the thing she organizes her week around. None of this happens without elementary music. There is a kindergartener in our district right now who would have had the same experience — and the proposed budget takes it away from them before they ever walk in the door. [Replace with real parent testimony.]

[PLACEHOLDER: GBSD parent][PLACEHOLDER: GBSD elementary school]

Teacher • middle

“Without K-5 music, beginning band falls apart by Halloween”

I have directed middle school band in this district for [PLACEHOLDER: years]. The single biggest predictor of whether a sixth-grader sticks with band is whether they had general music in elementary school. Kids with that foundation get to the first concert in October feeling capable. Kids without it spend the whole fall feeling lost — and most of them quit. Cut K-5 music and within two years my advanced and symphonic bands cannot fill themselves. [Replace with real director testimony.]

[PLACEHOLDER: Middle school band director][PLACEHOLDER: GBSD middle school]

Teacher • elementary

“These are the kids who otherwise would not be reached”

I have taught general music in GBSD for [PLACEHOLDER: years]. Every week I see kids who struggle in every other classroom — kids on IEPs, kids learning English, kids who freeze at math — light up when they sing in a round or play a recorder pattern. Music class is where they get to be successful in front of their peers. If we cut elementary music, we are not 'saving money' — we are quietly telling those kids that the one place they shine does not matter to us. [Replace with real teacher testimony.]

[PLACEHOLDER: Elementary music teacher name][PLACEHOLDER: GBSD elementary school]

The numbers behind the K-5 cut

Performing arts in GBSD are not a small program — and the damage from cutting at the foundation does not stay at the foundation.

Elementary schools losing music

every K-5 building in GBSD

[~3,100]

K-5 students affected

placeholder — every elementary student in the district

60+

Years of K-12 music tradition at stake

since GBSD was formed in 1962

Middle school programs downstream

all GBSD middle school bands & choirs depend on K-5 feeders

High school ensembles at risk within 5 years

GHS, Sam Barlow, Springwater Trail combined

K-12

Oregon requirement

state law requires music instruction at all grade levels

District-wide impact

Not just K-5 — many schools are affected.

Job cuts at the elementary level displace less-senior secondary teachers. While they are all certified and trained music educators, elementary instruction and high school jazz band require very different areas of expertise.

[PLACEHOLDER]

District-wide impact infographic

The ripple effect

Cut the Program of Study, the whole pipeline collapses.

This is not "just elementary." The K-12 music journey is one interlocking program. Eliminating K-5 music sets off a five-year cascade that ends with no competitive performing arts programs in any GBSD high school.

Year 0 — the cut
Elementary music eliminated district-wide
Every K-5 student in all 9 GBSD elementary schools loses weekly music instruction taught by a certified, licenced and music endorsed educator.
- ~3,100 K-5 students lose classroom music
- 9 elementary buildings lose their music teacher
- No on-ramp into the K-12 pipeline
Year 1–2
6th-grade band & choir enrollment collapses
Incoming sixth graders arrive with no foundation. Beginning ensembles cannot move at the pace they used to, and most students drop out before the first concert.
- Beginning band signups projected to drop sharply
- Sixth-grade choir loses singers who never built confidence
- Directors spend the year teaching foundational music knowledge and skills that should already be in place
Year 2–4
Middle school programs shrink past the point of viability
Without a steady feeder, advanced and symphonic ensembles at all 5 GBSD middle schools cannot fill themselves. Multi-period music programs collapse to single periods.
- Advanced and intermediate bands consolidate or close
- Treble and advanced choirs lose the prerequisite skills
- Middle school musicals scale down or end
- Without full time jobs, it will be hard to keep highly skilled educators
Year 3–5
High school ensembles lose their pipeline
GHS Wind Ensemble, Sam Barlow Symphonic Choir, jazz bands, and orchestras cannot fill auditioned seats. The full K-12 arts pathway is no longer viable.
- Auditioned ensembles cannot meet roster minimums
- Performing arts CTE pathway weakens at the high school level
- 60+ years of GBSD music tradition becomes unrecoverable
Year 5+
A generation of GBSD students grows up without music
Once dismantled, K-12 music infrastructure cannot be rebuilt in a single budget cycle. Restoring it requires hiring teachers, retraining educators, and rebuilding feeder culture from scratch — over a decade.
- No realistic path back within 10 years
- Three high schools without competitive performing arts
- East-county families lose the only music access many can afford

Numbered placeholders above (e.g. [PLACEHOLDER: %]) will be replaced with district enrollment data once the coalition receives it. The cascade itself is consistent with what comparable Oregon and Washington districts have seen after K-5 music cuts.

The petition

Add your name on Change.org.

The official coalition petition lives on Change.org. Signing takes 30 seconds. Forward it after.

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The legal question

Oregon law requires arts education — including music — at every grade level.

We believe a district-wide elimination of elementary music may not be lawful under Oregon's standards for public K-12 instruction. The coalition is reviewing the district's plan against state requirements. The relevant law is short, and it is plain.

ORS 329.045

Districts must offer arts instruction.

ORS 329.045 establishes that:

"School districts and public charter schools must offer students instruction in… the arts."
That instruction must "meet the academic content standards [for these subjects] adopted by the State Board of Education."

OAR 581-022-2030

The instructional program must be K-12.

OAR 581-022-2030 establishes that schools must offer a "planned K-12 instructional program [that includes the] Common Curriculum Goals and academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education."

Under OAR 581-021-0200, the Common Curriculum Goals consist in part of the Common Knowledge and Skills — "facts, concepts, principles, rules, procedures, and methods of inquiry associated with subject matter areas including music and art."

The State Board's adopted arts content standards cover five content areas:

DanceMedia ArtsMusicTheatreVisual Arts

What this means for the proposed cut

ORS 329.045 obligates GBSD to offer arts instruction — and to meet the State Board's content standards for it. The State Board's standards explicitly include Music as one of five arts content areas.
OAR 581-022-2030 requires a planned K-12 instructional program — not a 6-12 program, not a high-school-only program. Eliminating music in all nine K-5 buildings removes K-5 from the planned program entirely.
The district has not, to our knowledge, published a plan describing how it will meet ORS 329.045 and OAR 581-022-2030 for K-5 music if classroom instruction is eliminated.

This site is not legal advice. We are flagging a compliance question we believe the board, district counsel, and the public should address on the record before any vote.

Read it for yourself

The coalition's full write-up of the relevant statute and rule, with citations, is here:

Open the legal brief

Citations: ORS 329.045 · OAR 581-022-2030 · OAR 581-021-0200

There are other ways to balance this budget

Cutting K-5 music is a choice, not a necessity.

The coalition is compiling alternatives that preserve performing arts while still closing the budget gap. These are starting points — placeholders below will be replaced with specific figures and proposals as we gather them.

Option A

Use existing reserve / ending fund balance

[PLACEHOLDER: latest reserve / ending fund balance figure, with source] — partially or fully cover the elementary music line item from existing district reserves while long-term funding is secured.

Option B

Administrative & central-office review

[PLACEHOLDER: comparison of GBSD admin spending vs. peer districts; specific roles or contracts the coalition has identified] — small percentage reductions in non-classroom spending typically cover programs of this scale.

Option C

State funding & Student Investment Account (SIA)

[PLACEHOLDER: GBSD's current SIA / Measure 98 / Student Success Act allocation, and whether arts can be eligible uses] — a portion of these state funds is intended for well-rounded education, which explicitly includes the arts.

Option D

Community partnerships & private support

[PLACEHOLDER: foundations, corporate sponsors, or partner organizations that have indicated interest in K-5 music in GBSD] — bridge funding while the district develops a permanent plan.

Option E

Phased reduction with state-compliance review

Pause the proposed cut for one budget cycle. Commission an independent compliance review against Oregon's K-12 instruction requirements, publish the findings, and bring a revised proposal to the community before any reduction takes effect.

Have a budget alternative we should add?

The coalition is collecting proposals. Send specifics to [PLACEHOLDER: coalition contact email] — include the source of the figure or quote.

The board votes May 13.

Whatever we want them to hear, they need to hear it before then. Sign on Change.org. Email the board. Show up to public comment.

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