A Washington mother of three criticized her local school board for canceling music lessons for fourth graders after a school board member claimed it was rooted in “white supremacist culture” and “institutional violence.”
Alesha Perkins has killed members of the Olympia School District after they voted last week to end band and orchestra classes amid a million-dollar budget shortfall.
Perkins called out school board principal Scott Clifthorne, who claimed at a meeting of concerned parents last week that the school district was “entrenched in … surrounded by white supremacist culture.”
Clifthorne argued that music lessons are beneficial but unfair as students may lack “core instruction” in certain schools.
But Perkins argued that Clifthorne’s story was false and had no evidence.
“We have reached a level of absurdity in our school district, under our school board and leadership that is hard to ignore at this point,” Perkins said. Fox & Friends.
Alesha Perkins taunted Olympia School District members after they voted last week to halt band and orchestra classes amid a million-dollar budget shortfall
Perkins called out school board principal Scott Clifthorne, who claimed the school district was “entrenched in … surrounded by white supremacist culture”
During the meeting, several students appeared in their band gear while carrying their instruments.
Clifthorne compared white supremacy to the way the music courses taught. He claimed that while music courses were helpful, the way they were delivered resulted in some students missing classes.
“There’s nothing about strings or brass music that’s intrinsically white supremacist,” Clifthorne said.
“The way it is and the ways in which all of our institutions, not just schools — local government, state government, churches or neighborhoods — inculcate and allow the culture of white supremacy to be further propagated and cause significant institutional violence are things we need to think about as a community.
“And I think we should do that interrogation. And we need to address the ways it creates challenges for managing the educational day for our elementary students while preserving the program.”
In an interview with the news outlet, Perkins claimed that fourth grade music courses were a “target” and that certain policies caused families to leave.
“We are losing a lot of students,” she said. ‘I’m not talking about a handful of students.
‘I’m talking about hundreds and hundreds of students who leave the neighbourhood, and almost all of them quote these results. You can’t sustain a school district with a mass exodus of students.’
Clifthorne argued that music lessons are beneficial but unfair as students may lack “core instruction” in certain schools
The school district has 12 elementary schools that will be affected. Cutting the music course could help offset some of the district’s $11.5 million budget shortfall.
Cutting band courses for fourth and fifth graders in the school district could save $530,000, according to the school district The Olympian.
But in the end, only the fourth grade students were affected, and the district kept the approximately $350,000 budget for fifth grade band students.
The district is expected to announce additional layoffs to counter the budget shortfall and some parents fear for their child’s education.
Some staff cuts include 26 percent of the district’s parateachers, according to KIRO7. Class sizes are also expected to increase.
“I’m worried about my kids’ education,” Romeo, a school district parent, told the news outlet.
Others worried about how far the cuts would go and whether it would affect the arts even more.
The Wake school district has a controversial past and recently made headlines when an elementary school banned white students from a new “safe space” club.
Earlier this year, Centennial Elementary started a new club for fifth-grade students that was exclusively for people of color, according to 770 KTTH.
The students involved meet once a week to “hang out, check in, and possibly talk about their experiences as a minority student while building community, connections, and trust,” Representative Jim Walsh wrote in an email.
A similar club for fourth graders was also in the works.