Three ways to make this real.
Sign the petition. Contact the board directly. Show up at public comment.
Step 1
Sign the petition on Change.org
The official coalition petition lives on Change.org. It takes 30 seconds.
Open the petitionStep 2
Email the school board
A short, personal email to every member of the board is the single most effective thing you can do.
Real board email addresses will appear here once the coalition fills them in. (Placeholders below.)
Suggested email
Subject: Please reverse the cut to elementary music in GBSD Dear Board Members, I am writing as a [parent/teacher/community member/alum] to ask you to reverse the proposed cut to elementary music across all nine GBSD elementary schools. Elementary music is the foundation of every middle school band and choir, and every high school ensemble. Cutting K-5 music does not save a program — it dismantles the K-12 pipeline that has served Gresham-Barlow students for sixty years. Within five years, middle school enrollment will collapse and high school programs will be unsustainable. I also have a compliance concern. ORS 329.045 requires districts to offer instruction in the arts and to meet the State Board of Education's content standards. OAR 581-022-2030 requires a planned K-12 instructional program that includes those standards — which expressly cover Music. Eliminating classroom music in every K-5 building appears to remove K-5 from the planned program entirely. Before any vote, please ask district counsel to address how the proposal complies with ORS 329.045 and OAR 581-022-2030, on the record. [Add a sentence about your personal connection.] Thank you, [Your name] [Your address]
[PLACEHOLDER: Board Chair name]
Board Chair
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Vice Chair name]
Vice Chair
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Director name]
Director, Zone 3
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Director name]
Director, Zone 4
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Director name]
Director, Zone 5
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Director name]
Director, Zone 6
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
[PLACEHOLDER: Director name]
Director, Zone 7
[placeholder@gresham.k12.or.us]
Step 3
Speak at a board meeting
Public comment is two minutes. The board counts the room.
- [PLACEHOLDER: YYYY-MM-DD]Public comment open
Regular Board Meeting — Budget hearing
[PLACEHOLDER: location]
- [PLACEHOLDER: YYYY-MM-DD]Public comment open
Budget Committee Final Review
[PLACEHOLDER: location]
- Wed, May 13, 2026Public comment open
Regular Board Meeting — Budget adoption vote
[PLACEHOLDER: location]
Reference
The Oregon law that requires K-12 arts education
Two short citations from Oregon statute and administrative rule — these are the basis of the coalition's compliance question.
“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.”
Schools must offer a “planned K-12 instructional program” that includes the Common Curriculum Goals and academic content standards adopted by the State Board — which cover Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts.