The Sterling Strings were featured on a Northern News Now story about the budget cuts:

Students and staff voice frustration about band cuts coming to Duluth schools

By Ryan Hayes

Published: Apr. 22, 2025 at 10:50 PM CDT

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - The Duluth School Board room was packed with ‘Music Matters’ signs as students and staff expressed concerns over cuts coming to the band program.

Duluth School’s are planning to cut one full-time band position at both Ordean East and Lincoln Park Middle Schools.

Superintendent John Magas said making cuts like these is never an easy decision.

“Reductions like this are difficult but they’re unfortunately necessary,” said Magas.

He said they are especially necessary after Duluth voters said ‘no’ to May referendum that would have raised property taxes and given the district $5.2 million each year for the next 10 years.

The band cuts will cause the district to move from a co-teaching model, to a pull-out model. This means students will be pulled from other classes for individual and small group instruction.

Former Ordean East band teacher, Kevin Hoeschen, said this model is bad for students.

“With the pull out model, you’re taking students from other classes, they’re missing other instructional time, you don’t know which students will be able to make it that day,” said Hoeschen.

Hoeschen called on district leaders to go to a current class that employs the co-teaching model to see it action.

“I really hope that the administration, and the school board members will go to the middle schools and talk to the teachers, and observe that wonderful, wonderful co-teaching model,” said Hoeschen.

While many had words against the move at Tuesday’s meeting, Duluth East’s ‘Sterling Strings,’ performed a musical protest against the cut.

Others at the meeting expressed concerns that the increased need for private instruction will create an inequitable situation for those who can’t afford lessons.

Magas said he is working hard to make the best decision for students.

“We really hope that our community in the future will take this into consideration when considering future referendums.”

He added that many surrounding districts use the pull-out model, and said while he sees the value in the co-teaching model, it is costly for the district.

“I would urge our taxpayers to consider this, because I think when they voted against the referendum, I don’t know if they were necessarily fully considering that we would have to make really difficult budget choices, and now people are upset wondering why are we having to make these choices and we clearly said there would be tough choices ahead,” said Magas.

The district is expected to finalize next year’s budget in June.

Fox21 featured a story about the budget cuts:

Public Response to Potential Duluth School District Music Cuts

By Drew Kerner

Published: Apr. 23, 2025 

It was packed house for tonight’s Duluth school board listening session.

Parents, students, and community members showed up at the meeting to call for more support to district music programs amid possible budget cuts.

The crowd held signs reading “Music Matters,” as speakers expressed the importance of musical education, and why it’s critical to student’s success in the future.

“With plans being made to cut to give existing resources, we still have resources like lessons featured in the middle schools. These educators are providing help to overworked teachers, and they deliver private lessons, which teach vital skills needed for any player… These skills will allow them to succeed in high school and beyond. I can personally attest without those lessons back in middle school, I would be nowhere near the level I am today.” said Korah, a Duluth East High School Student (Orchestra).

“Each year, UWS, along with colleges and universities across the nation, hold auditions for prospective music students. Those who desire to be music teachers, performers, composers, arts administrators, and all the other careers come from a music degree.  At these auditions, we also award thousands of dollars in scholarships. Access to high quality music instruction, particularly individual lessons, is one of the biggest factors for successful audition. Those who have had high quality lessons from a young age are more likely to be given music scholarships, and to be successful in a challenging music curriculum,” said Michael Fuchs D.M.A., UWS Music Department Chair/District Parent.

A majority of tonight’s speakers focused on preserving music education within the district, however other speakers also expressed their concerns over potential cuts the district’s Special Education programs.

District 709 has not announced what cuts will be made yet for the next school year other than reducing its staff by 8 percent.

The district is providing the latest updates on the budget issue on its website.

The Duluth News Tribune featured a story about the budget cuts:

Proposed Changes to Duluth Schools' Music Program Spark Concern
Students, educators and community members voiced opinions to the board.

By Emma McNamee

Published: April 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM

DULUTH — Administrators and Duluth School Board members received an impromptu performance Tuesday from high school orchestra students concerned over proposed changes to the district's music programs.

During the board’s monthly listening session, where the public has an opportunity to voice concerns, one topic dominated the evening. Multiple speakers voiced frustration and worry over the district's decision to move away from the longstanding “co-teaching” model in middle school band and orchestra classrooms.

Sterling Strings, the elite orchestra group from Duluth East High School, used its allotted three minutes to perform, ending their jaunty rendition of “Frost on the Plow” to applause from the filled room.

“That is the product of the co-teaching model,” said Melanie Sever, a local musician and music educator who spoke after the students’ performance.

“The co-teaching model … has been a cornerstone of instrumental music at ISD 709 middle schools for more than a generation," she said. "It's been widely supported by parents, school board members, students and the community.”

The co-teaching model used at Ordean East and Lincoln Park middle schools requires two teachers collaborating in one classroom. For band and orchestra classes, this might look like one teacher working on foundational skills with individual or small groups of students, while the second teacher conducts the rest of the class. Other times, the teachers might split the class into two groups to work on learning new music and techniques.

But with the district facing a $7.6 million budget reduction, the co-teaching positions are to be eliminated in favor of a “pull-out” model of teaching. Under this method, a single teacher or specialist would work with individual or small groups of students who would be “pulled out” of their regular classrooms for music lessons.

“We recognize that no matter what is reduced, it will have negative impacts, negative impacts on our students, negative impacts on our staff, negative impacts on our families,” said Superintendent John Magas. “None of the reductions are things that we want to do.”

Kevin Hoeschen, a now-retired orchestra teacher, has worked in classrooms with co-teaching and pull-out models. During his years teaching in Wisconsin schools, the pull-out model was the norm. He was able to work with students individually on a two-week cycle, often using his prep hours or staying after school to ensure students received lessons.

It wasn’t until he started teaching at Ordean East Middle School that Hoeschen experienced the co-teaching model.

“It’s so much better,” he said. “Really, it works so well and it was so nice to work with other professionals and to have them there to help teach and work with students. ... I know I liked it better, and I do think it’s better for students.”

During the listening session, Hoeschen told the board there was a “drastic reduction” in time spent one-on-one or in small groups, without a secondary teacher. That time, dedicated to students developing foundational music skills, becomes less consistent using the pull-out model.

“I made it work (in Wisconsin), and other teachers worked with me to make that happen. A lot of them would allow for students to miss part of a class,” Hoeschen told the News Tribune. “Some didn’t, and I understand and appreciate where they’re coming from. That’s a hard ask — taking a student out of another classroom.”

Several parents and students spoke during the listening session about their experiences with the district's music programs. Several shared personal anecdotes about the benefits of participating in these programs, socially, academically, and of course, musically.

“We really wanted to show the school board what music really means to the community and to our schools and what it can do,” said Beatrice Javaharian, who performed with Sterling Strings. “So many of us, the people in Sterling (Strings), we would not be as good as we are, as comfortable as we are, excited about playing music as we are, without those middle school teachers.”

Javaharian, a senior at East High School, has been involved in music since she was in the first grade. She’s participated in orchestra and band. Playing the violin with Sterling Strings and the larger Greyhounds Orchestra, Javaharian has traveled to competitions where East historically receives high marks. She’s played a range of venues and events, including performing at the mayor’s State of the City address, and overall, honed her skills as a musician.

Not everyone has the same access to music, though, Javaharian said. She worries the proposed changes to the school music programs will only create more disparities in music education for students who don’t have access to private lessons or extracurricular music groups.

“I think that everyone needs to be given the same opportunities to pursue music,” said Javaharian. “It's not fair to people if you only get to be the best and participate at this level because you have a little more money than someone who maybe can’t afford lessons.”

With displacement notices already sent out to impacted staff members, additional changes to the budget plan and staffing for next year present a challenge, Magas said during the meeting. Adding positions back, at this point, would likely require dipping into the district’s assigned fund balance for next year, potentially missing the target for budget reductions.

He noted the district is pursuing community partnerships and potential grants to help sustain the music programs with external support.

“We realize that is not as good,” Magas told board members. “It's hard to talk about reductions in services for children as being good options. It’s really about what is the least worst option we can bring forward given our financial realities.”

Budget restrictions and changes are having an impact on the success and quality of our music programs. Our goal is to show our school board that music is valued by our community and it needs to be funded in the schools to ensure programs successfully function now and in the future.

A community meeting was held in early April to discuss what our music programs need to succeed and whether those needs were being met.

The following issues were identified as areas that need attention:

All meetings take place at 6:45pm in the Choir Room at Duluth East High School:

2025

May 5

2025

May 16 ~ 5pm
Sterling Strings (Coppertop Church)

May 19 ~ 7pm
Orchestra Spring Concert (Auditorium)

May 20 ~ 7pm
Choir Final Concert (Weber Hall, UMD)

May 22 ~ 7pm
Band Pops Concert (Auditorium)

May 27 ~ 7pm
Jazz Concert (Location TBD)

June 1 ~ 7pm
Choir Spring Concert (Auditorium)

June 4 ~ 6pm
Commencement (Symphony Orchestra)

VIEW PAST PERFORMANCES OF 2024/25

October 10
Collaboration with Denfeld and CSS on Vivaldi’s Gloria @CSS can be viewed here

October 24
University of Minnesota Duluth Honor Orchestra can be viewed here

November 6
Orchestra Cafe Concert can be viewed here

December 3
A La Carte Music Department Concert an be viewed here

January 24
Sterling Strings Fundraiser Concert can be viewed here

March 13 ~ 7pm
Orchestra Concert can be viewed here

March 21 ~ 5:30pm
Jazz Concert can be viewed here