Students and parents urge board to preserve Kennedy Middle School lesson time after staffing numbers prompt alarm

Dozens of students, parents and band staff pressed the Germantown School District Board on March 17 to preserve middle‑school music lesson time after preliminary staffing numbers circulated online.

"The 0.4 is how we keep face‑to‑face lessons with a professional each week a real thing," student speaker Cassie Zarter told the board, saying the 0.4 FTE reduction being discussed would remove weekly lesson time that students rely on to develop technique and sustain program success. Multiple student speakers cited competitive results, regional awards and scholarship opportunities as outcomes tied to regular lesson time.

District administrators said the numbers posted in the preliminary staffing packet did not fully account for lesson time and staff travel when FTE was calculated. "Contrary to what's been posted on social media by a group not affiliated with the school district, we are not reducing FTE at this time for Kennedy Middle School or any of our music programming across the district," District Administrator Dr. Reutder told the board during opening reports.

Dr. Castro, the district director working on staffing counts, explained the preliminary figures published in the packet count direct in‑class sections and do not yet include travel time and lesson blocks. He said administration invited the full K–12 music staff to a follow‑up meeting to quantify lessons and alignment and planned personnel‑committee work to finalize the accounting. "We need to quantify lessons because...once again, [lessons are] a piece of that programming that's different than what your ELA class may look like," Dr. Castro said.

Speakers at the public‑comment period included middle‑ and high‑school students, parents and Germantown High School band director Jonathan Bell, who provided historical context on how lesson programs have been staffed and why lesson time is central to the district’s high‑level ensemble outcomes. Many parents and students asked the board to delay any staffing reductions until the district presents a clear, itemized accounting of how lessons and travel were converted into FTE.

Board members and personnel committee leaders responded that the board had approved a preliminary staffing plan for 2026–27 that explicitly excluded K–2 music and that the personnel committee would meet in April to finalize music FTE after the district completes its quantification. The chair said the board’s action preserved current staff status for the short term while administration and music staff finalize how to represent lessons and travel in FTE counts.

What happens next: administration will meet with music staff during a scheduled in‑service to quantify lesson minutes and travel; the personnel committee will revisit the K–2 and middle‑school music FTE counts at a follow‑up meeting in April, and final staffing will return to the full board later this spring.