As belts are being tightened in Washington DC, almost all of us are facing similar situations in our schools across the state. Financial restrictions have forced state governments to make difficult decisions related to funding. With education being one of the major expenditures, school districts are called upon to trim budgets, sometimes to the point of eliminating educational offerings. After having discussed this situation with legislators and reading recent announcements in the newspaper, indications suggest that similar, if not deeper financial burdens will be placed on schools the coming year. Now is the time to strengthen advocacy efforts, and to be ready to defend music programs at the state and local levels so music education in Kansas not only survives, but thrives.
KANSAS MUSIC ADVOCACY NETWORK
KMEA is developing a state-wide network of high-profile advocates who can be contacted at a moment's notice to help support school music on the district and state levels. We need your help to create a state-wide network of support. Your KMEA district president will be in contact and will ask you to submit one or two names of high-profile music education advocates. These advocates should be influential in the educational, cultural, and business communities. They should also be knowledgeable about the validity of music education. Remember to ask each advocate's permission to use his/her contact information. For each advocate, please provide, as completely as possible, the information listed below to your district president:
- Advocate Name:
- Title:
- Address:
- City/Zip:
- Phone Number:
- E-Mail Address:
SURVEY OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN KANSAS
KMEA is sponsoring a survey focused on budget challenges for music education in Kansas. It is important for KMEA to receive a response to the survey from every school district in the state. Please identify one music educator as a representative from your school district to collect the necessary information and complete the survey on behalf of your district no later than December 31, 2011. We hope all your district's music educators will assist in providing this important information. Go to the link below to take the survey: https://surveys.ksu.edu/TS?offeringId=179727
KMEA encourages all districts to complete this survey and appreciates your efforts regarding the status of music education in Kansas. The information you submit will provide valuable data about the impact of budget cuts on music programs in our state. Last year's survey results can be found on the KMEA website at: http://www.ksmea.org/advocacy/impact.php and http://www.ksmea.org/advocacy/brochure.php.