Instruments and uniforms are 100% free to each student — Arlington ISD, 2024.
Irving ISD is committed to providing a superior education opportunity to all students interested in the performing arts and, as such, provides the use of school-owned instruments at no charge — Irving ISD, 2024.
From 2009 to 2013, Irving ISD student participation in secondary Fine Arts increased by 40%. From 2013 to 2017, secondary performing arts enrollment in Arlington ISD increased by 22%. This was accomplished by removing the barrier of an instrument rental or purchase cost. Irving was 80% free or reduced lunch, and Arlington was 70%. The issue was not a desire to participate, or as some administrators would say to me, things like, “This population of kids just do not want to do band, choir, or orchestra…” or “You need to meet these kids with more modern music like they listen to,” or “They like art, look at the numbers…” The numbers were because the kids were not in anything in middle school and had to get their high school fine arts credit. They were then placed in a fine arts course with no pre-requisite — generally, Art I. The issue was access — children of poverty typically cannot afford to participate in instrumental music without the system helping with the barrier of the cost of an instrument.
In Irving and Arlington, we used capital bond funds, the same type used to purchase vehicles, build buildings, or even computer equipment. This is permissible as quality musical instruments have a life span of over 10 years. In Arlington, a scientific phone survey was administered as we prepared for a 2014 Bond Program (including $9.8M in instruments and uniforms) to be put up for a vote in May. The question specific to equal access to instrumental music education was essentially, “Would you support the purchase of musical instruments for students who would otherwise not be able to participate?” This was among the highest positive responses of the electorate, and the answer was YES at a rate of 70%. After two previous bond election failures, the May 2014 Bond Package for Arlington ISD passed by 70%. Folks need to know where, why, and who benefits — and agree with the rationale — regarding additional property taxes.
Graphic, Darrell Fife
Thinking Music Expansion = Enhanced Economics
Concurrent with procuring musical instruments was convincing the district's key decision-makers to structurally engender increased student participation in music, specifically at the point of entry for most — the beginner year and then moving from middle to high school. This was a multi-faceted strategy involving current district success stories, common practices of surrounding/comparable districts, and presentation of Music Cuts & Reverse Economics with local data. Including the projection that, in six years, filling the high school music programs would save multiple full-time equivalents and, in Arlington, an annual staffing cost savings of $1.2M.
Through the 2014 Bond Program, we had funds to purchase instruments and uniforms for each of the six AISD high school music programs to grow to what we as a system chose to be healthful participation — Band, 300; Choir, 250; Orchestra, 250. Column 2 was current enrollment, column 3 was desired enrollment, and column 4 was the delta of 2 and 3. The delta of each of the six high schools was added together and divided by 28 (students), which was the district budget assumption for a class to determine the equivalent of class periods. Class periods were converted to Full Time Equivalents (FTE), and the FTEs were equated to 2014 budget allocations. When you added the room for student enrollment, with current staff at the junior high and high school level for secondary music, if the programs were filled to healthful participation, the net savings — again in 2014 — would be $1.2M, which would be $1.6M in 2024. So, the district could then choose cost savings or allocate those FTEs for class size reduction or other programming. Either way, everyone wins.
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