Elementary General Music — the program being cut

Weekly K-5 general music — the on-ramp that feeds every middle school band and choir, every high school ensemble. The proposed budget eliminates it from every elementary building in the district.

This is what is actually being cut: classroom music instruction for every K-5 student in every Gresham-Barlow elementary school. General music is where students first read rhythm, sing in harmony, and discover they are musicians. It is also where middle and high school programs find their next class of instrumentalists and singers. Without K-5 music, sixth graders arrive at band and choir with no foundation — and middle school enrollment collapses within two years. This is not a 'reduction' or a 'restructure.' It is the dismantling of the K-12 music pipeline starting at the foundation.