In college towns like Amherst, Massachusetts, public schools can feel overshadowed by the numerous universities and colleges that share the same town. One would think that the multiple higher education schools would bring in an immense amount of money for the town, which it does, but is it going to the right people?

On March 12, the Amherst-Pelham School Committee must vote on whether reductions will be made to the music program and the special education programs at all schools in the region.

What does this mean for the schools? How will this affect students, parents and faculty? These questions have been leaving residents of Amherst advocating and protesting for their children to gain a fully funded education on par with these programs.

“Children outside of the special education program also benefit so that there’s a fluidity between helping students with special needs and then also helping children who might not be diagnosed with a disability to get access to that,” stated Allison Estes, principal of Wildwood Elementary School.

“If we have one fewer teacher, we will have to figure out a structure that does not provide co-teaching at every grade in the same way it has been. It will be more focused on service delivery for some grades, some grades we might be able to,” she said.

School committee meetings have experienced recent tension due to the potential budget reductions of the music program and special education program. For the special education program, the school committee stated that four paraeducators could potentially be let go due to the budget cuts.

“My son can’t stand to lose this rate of teachers nine more times before he graduates,” stated Alex Lopez, one of the four paraeducators potentially being let go. 30-to-40 percent of children in the Amherst-Pelham region have IEPs of 501s. Lopez also stated that we should be “prioritizing classrooms” to give students the best possible education they can receive.

During this time, the region is also in search of a new superintendent. During a Feb. 27 school committee meeting, a member of the committee told superintendent candidates that “there is a lot to offer music-wise” in the area, despite the fact that the music programs in public school are about to face an immense number of reductions.

“My oldest child performs in the orchestra at ARMS under Yasu Suzuki. Our middle son, on the Autism spectrum, has benefited tremendously from the band program taught by Ariel Templeton at Crocker Farm Elementary. As mentioned earlier, the band has given him an opportunity to shine. He is a part of a group because of the band, and he feels special, and he has important social connections to his fellow bandmates. It has deeply impacted our family, and we are very upset,” Michelle Prindle said, owner of The Prindle School, a music school with multiple locations in Hadley, Florence and Easthampton.

In the past, the music programs in the school district were outstanding. A great example of this is Carolyn Walker, a violin teacher in the area who went to the University of Massachusetts and attended Fort River, the middle school and the high school in Amherst.

“There’s just not as much money and support as there has been in the past,” Walker said. “When you have the old-time teachers, they have more clout to be able to fight for their program. Newer teachers might not necessarily have that. We also had more kids overall in my graduating class.”

Walker also stated that she has two children now in the same school district she attended, and she wants the same experience that she was able to receive as a child.

“As a UMass student, it was great to come to Amherst and do my student teaching there. This program isn’t just for our school system, it’s for our community,” Walker said.

This isn’t the first time that the Amherst-Pelham school system has faced reductions. When asked about moving forward with the potential reductions, Estes said, “We had reductions last year for our intervention and mental health programs and also our special programs. This year, we had to manage with that. We had to have a part-time intervention teacher as compared to a full-time one.”

While it may seem like the reductions are bound to happen, there is a little bit of hope left. Most Amherst-Pelham school committee members agreed upon the fact that they did not want to approve the budget and wanted more time to discuss it. One member even stated that the numbers were “just devastating.” Other members of the committee will also schedule another meeting before March 12 to go in-depth about the budget reductions.

“To cut another position and eliminate 4th-grade instruction would be a devastating blow to the town’s program,” Prindle said. “In addition, for a district that professes to value Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, these budget cuts are extremely inequitable. Families of means will find a way to supplement the lack of instrumental instruction with private lessons outside of the school. For many families in our district, this cost would be too much to bear. This will increase the achievement gap across the town, especially as decades of solid research into the brain-building benefits of instrumental music instruction have demonstrated that the study of music is a great equalizer among student populations.”

Music and special education have more connections than people realize. Learning an instrument or taking singing lessons at an early age as a child with special needs can help with socialization, cognitive skills and provide a unique outlet to express themselves.

“It is an outlet. The value is something that cannot be measured by a test score,” Walker said.

Paige Hanson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @Paige_Hanson1.