Schools

Glen Cove School Budget: Parents Support Music and Arts

Parents praise the district's music and arts program but also express some concern about the cuts.

In a budget year that Glen Cove school administrators have called “draconian,” active parents in say they only have one real concern: how the budget cuts will affect the education of their kids; and to several parents, Glen Cove’s music department plays a vital role.

The Glen Cove Board of Education adopted a $72 million budget on April 11 that accommodates the current music and art programs, including third grade strings and two sixth grade band teachers.

“Glen Cove's music department has been – and remains known as – the crown jewel for the district,” said Glen Cove mother and president Diane Bruschini. “It’s what sets us apart from competitive districts on Long Island. Looking back over the years, our students have been given opportunities to perform on stage at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Shea Stadium, Dorney Park, NYSSMA, Disney World, Virginia Beach, the list goes on.”

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While this year’s current budget supports the music department, Bruschini said that the department is working without a coordinator and she fears future cuts may be detrimental to the program.

“This year, parents had to urge the BOE to admit one student into the program at LISA,” Bruschini said. “This is a very sad sign of the times. With such an outstanding program right in our back door, our students lose. With cuts, I worry that our program will be watered down, and opportunities for students will not be there.”

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Glen Cove High School junior and her family fought the district to receive funding for BOCES Cultural Arts Center in Syosset back in August. After presenting the BOE with a petition containing over 100 signatures, .

Glen Cove resident Martin Carmody said he is concerned about the BOE making cuts in programs that are successful.

“The art, music, and TV programs offer opportunities to a large segment of the student population that are not interested in sports,” Carmody said. “The sports segment of the curriculum is very important, but so are the humanities.”

Carmody noted the Glen Cove Select Choral, who recently returned from a successful competition in Virginia where they took top honors.

 “This reflects well on the community,” Carmody said. “These students should be held up as examples. The TV program teaches real-world skills in an industry that is hiring and expanding.”

Carmody suggests ways the community can support and benefit from student work: “I would like to see the choirs and bands play more often for the public, perhaps at elderly homes, downtown when the Friday night concert series starts again, and at street fairs in the area. I would like to see the students’ artwork displayed in a rotating basis in accessible public environments such as at ,  and local restaurants. The TV program should be allowed to put out a public access show on a regular schedule; I would like it broadcasted during a viewable time. The students of the Glen Cove High School TV Department should be out in the community creating pieces, interviewing local citizens, and covering local events. The community would benefit from these activities and the school system would be shown in a positive light.”

While the budget also includes the district's Visual Arts Education Program, resident Maria Venuto collected 103 signatures on a petition to preserve the program.

Venuto presented the petition to Laria on in early April, requesting that no cuts in staff be made to the visual arts department: "If we truly see the arts as the crown jewel of our district, we need to preserve the valuable assets that we have developed in the Glen Cove School District," the letter stated. 


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