Creatively Braving the Storm

Creatively Braving the Storm

Madison Grunow
ENG 104, Section 17
Professor Romano
September 24, 2015

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Creatively Braving the Storm

Interviewee Chris Wing, Director of Bands at Greenfield-Central High

School in Greenfield, Indiana compares the struggles of public school budget
cuts to a storm that has been stirring over the past several years. Budget
cuts, specifically in public schools, have created a major impact on different
programs in schools that force teachers to come up with creative ideas on
how to overcome this obstacle. Looking into the truth behind budget cuts,
the main topics discussed in the interview include the creative ways of
dealing with this storm, the casualties that follow, and of course the potential
causes of it all.
To get through this storm, otherwise known as budget cuts, teachers
and other faculty members have to be creative in finding other ways to make
up for the money lost due to budget cuts. With the loss of funding, arts
programs are looking for other sources of income to support their programs.
Public schools need to be very creative in finding ways of to deal with these
budget cuts. When asked about the creative ways Chris Wing came up with
to help offset the costs from the budget cuts, he responded, Instead of
buying new music we used music that we already own, (C. Wing, personal
communication, September 24, 2015). Other ways to provide additional
funding include sponsorships and fundraisers. Wing mentions how his Band
Boosters created a new sponsorship program that has brought in about
$6,000 for the entire band program in the past two years (C. Wing, personal
communication, September 24, 2015). These are only a few ways that
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Creatively Braving the Storm

Greenfield-Central Bands has been able to come up with to offset the budget
cuts. Now imagine how many ways other schools and programs have come
up with to make up for the money they have lost in the past several years.
Many people believe that arts programs are the first to be cut when
schools undergo budget cuts, however this is not always the case. Each
public school operates in different ways, but for some like Greenfield-Central
High School the budget distribution is based on percentages (C. Wing,
personal communication, September 24, 2015). Wing brought up an example
in the interview, If our capital project money goes down by 10%, everybody
loses 10%. If it goes down by 20%, everybody loses 20%. So rather than one
group losing, all of the money that gets lost, I think everybody loses little bits
at a time which keeps it fair and equitable, (C. Wing, personal
communication, September 24, 2015). This was an interesting finding when
learning about the truth behind school budgeting, especially concerning arts
programs.
While some might be greater than others, every storm has its
casualties. In the case of small communities and small arts programs trying
to overcome this storm, they have fallen short. Schools with bigger
communities and stronger support systems are able to get through these
difficult times because of their strength and support. Unfortunately, not all
programs have the strength to overcome such obstacles due to their small
size and lack of support. Wing adds to this in the interview, I can see in a
smaller community or a smaller program, those kinds of programs would
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Creatively Braving the Storm

start to disappear because they just dont have the strength and the support
to weather that storm, (C. Wing, personal communication, September 24,
2015). Smaller schools simply do not have the numbers that are needed to
support programs like band, theatre, choir, or actual art classes like sculpting
(C. Wing, personal communication, September 24, 2015). This is a sad truth
that needs to be fixed because the arts, for some students, is the only thing
they have. Some of these schools could contain students that have great
potential, but due to the lack of funding, they arent able to reach their full
potential and their talent is lost.
The extinction of arts programs in smaller schools and communities
could be the worst news possible for some students. Not every student can
participate in a sport, whether it be because they are not physically capable,
or because they simply arent an athletic person. These are the students that
turn to the arts. For some kids, the arts is a way of expressing themselves,
for some its an outlet for stress, and for others it is the only things keeping
them together. Arts programs offer students a way to escape from the
pressures of school or their homes. If these programs are no longer there,
how will they cope? Some students use music, art, or theatre as a way of
dealing with depression or time away from a bad home environment and if
these programs are cut, they will not have a safe way of handling these
situations. All of this may sound extreme, but is it really? Simply due to the
fact that programs are receiving less funding, students are deprived of the
chance to express themselves or relieve stress in a positive way.
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Creatively Braving the Storm

Storms dont just show up out of the blue, so what made this storm
come about? There could be several causes for the issue with public school
budgets all of which boil down to your own opinion. One cause for this issue
could simply be that schools have not yet recovered from the recession the
United States faced several years ago. The issue of budget cuts could also be
caused by the positions in power. As mentioned in the interview, some things
are placed ahead of education where the state budget is concerned (C. Wing,
personal communication, September 24, 2015). Another cause could be that
people are not prepared to go out and be successful in the work force. Wing
brings up a good point about students not leaving school with the proper
skills and tools to be successful in the work force (C. Wing, personal
communication, September 24, 2015). Not every student is college
material and that is okay, but those students still need to be able to go out
and be successful in the work force. One could conclude from here that there
arent enough people in the work force to produce the amount of property
taxes needed to fund schools. Wing mentions that while the band budget
comes from a variety of sources, the biggest mean of income is from the
Capitals Project Fund which is essentially property taxes (C. Wing, personal
communication, September 24, 2015). Having more people working and
more people paying property taxes could easily give school programs and
arts programs the funding they need to get rid of this storm.
The storm is not over, but people are learning to deal with it or finding
innovative ways of persevering. By coming up with creative ideas on how to
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Creatively Braving the Storm

bring in more money to arts programs, they are able to stay up and running
and able to offset the budget cuts. Some schools, however talented they
may be, might not have the numbers and support to survive the storm and
therefore have to terminate some of their programs. The elimination of arts
programs could leave students in a difficult situation. Many students involved
in arts programs are there to express themselves, get out of a bad home
environment, relieve stress, or even deal with a mental health issues like
depression. Without the arts programs, these students dont have anything
else to help with these issues. Finally, the cause of the storm could come a
variety of things including the economy not recovering still, less people
working resulting in less tax money that schools depend on, or in the case
where other things are being funded ahead of education.

Reference List
Wing, Chris. Personal interview. 24 September 2015.

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