Parents and music teachers press District 208 to restore three full-time music positions

Lisa, a music parent and organizer of a community campaign, opened public comment with a progress report on efforts to rebuild Riverside-Brookfield’s music program and staffing. She said parents launched an online petition and outreach after periodic cuts to music positions and that the campaign’s primary objective is to restore three full-time music teachers to stabilize instruction and boost enrollment.

"We received over 1,400 petition signatures in the first 10 days," Lisa said, explaining the group’s outreach to feeder schools and community events to recruit students into music programs. She told the board that parents collected staffing data from other districts and that the campaign’s second objective is to ensure continuity and specialized instruction in sequential music courses.

Eric West, a music teacher at Chipan Middle School and junior-high choir representative for District 7 of the Illinois Music Educators Association, told the board part-time positions make it difficult to recruit and retain specialist teachers. "It's time to fund three full-time teachers if you really want excellence," West said, arguing that part-time roles create a revolving door of staff and that comparable campuses allocate substantially more full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing to music.

Speakers described recent history in which cuts around 2012–13 reduced staffing and said parents successfully pressured the district to reverse cuts in summer 2023. Lisa said the net additional cost to add a third full-time teacher next year would be about $115,000; she also cited public salary-data figures she said show administrator salaries total about $1.3 million a year for context on district spending.

Residents and parents at the microphone stressed that strong feeder programs make it likely enrollment will grow, pointing to record participation in feeder-school ensembles, district/state festival representation and awards in neighboring districts. One commenter said feeder-school orchestra concerts now require two sessions because so many students want to perform.

Board members acknowledged the concerns and suggested follow-up steps: a sit-down meeting between parents, board leadership and administration was requested and board members asked administrators to provide clearer data on staffing formulas and class cap policies. District administrators said they are willing to meet and review the curriculum guide and staffing metrics, with division-head presentations possible in the fall to provide comparative models and hiring options such as dual certification.

The public-comments block closed without a formal board vote on staffing; proponents asked only that the board set a date to continue the conversation and that the administration and board review the district’s staffing formulas and class caps as they relate to musical ensembles and specialized offerings.