My passion for music began in 4th grade at Elementary School, just as it did for the 49% of students across the Corvallis School District (CSD) who also take music as a subject. According to The Gazette Times, Elementary School students in CSD are going to have less time to learn about music next year due to budget cuts. Rather than having two 30 minute slots a week dedicated to music, students will only have one 45 minute class. This shortened practice schedule will significantly impair the development of our students’ music foundation.

Band and Orchestra teacher at both Crescent Valley and Corvallis High School, Sarah Perkins, believes that orchestra requires the same amount of consistency as learning a language. Imagine having only 45 minutes each week dedicated to English or Spanish. More time would be spent reviewing and refreshing material from the previous lesson at the beginning of class, cutting into valuable learning time for new content. Students who are sick would have a harder time catching up.

But why is this even happening? Our district is paid per student, and because less and less students are being enrolled into our schools, we are losing money, and something has to give. This ‘something’ should not be the music programs and electives that connect our community. Without enough time allocated to being exposed to different instruments, students won’t get a basic knowledge and foundation in music, will be less likely to play throughout middle and high school, will never build a bond with their teacher, and the overall talent and size of our orchestras will slowly deteriorate.

This issue affects more than just Elementary school students. Music teachers from all over the district are losing their jobs because they haven’t been teaching for long enough. There have been three different music teachers at CHS in the past three years, because the district keeps moving everyone around. With fewer Elementary school teachers, the ones that are left have to teach more than 700 students each. How can we expect these teachers to learn 700 names? How can we expect them to make 700 new connections when they’re only seeing these students once a week?

For some people, this might not be a problem. There are plenty of private music teachers who can help a student to improve during one-on-one lessons, but going to those is expensive. Some families can’t afford extra lessons, so how will they be able to get the attention they need in order to get better at their instrument? Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn music, especially students in Elementary schools who are just starting to pick up on what they are interested in. Your ability to learn and follow your dreams should not depend on how much money you have. 

The Corvallis School District prides itself on equity, but they’re limiting opportunity for the creative and musical students. Students in lower income homes won’t have access to the arts. Higher income families can pay for private lessons and other experiences that might help them learn more efficiently. Elementary school students need equal opportunities in all classes, not just core subjects.

Sources Cited

Hutcherson, Ella . “Corvallis elementary students music class cut to once a week.” The Gazette Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Perkins, Sarah. Interview with the author. May 2025.

Yamaha Staff. “STATUS OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.” Yamaha, 5 Oct. 2022