It started out as a calm town hall meeting at which community members and educators were invited to discuss how the cuts to the Toronto District School Board’s itinerant music instructors program would affect the future of John G. Althouse Middle School in Etobicoke.

But it didn’t stay calm for long.

The June 21 meeting was called after trustees voted 18-4 to approve a balanced budget two days earlier — one that, due to the provincial government’s funding cuts, slashes $67.8 million from staff and school programs in the TDSB over the next two years.

The itinerant music instructors (IMI) program, which has been a staple in certain Etobicoke schools since the 1960s, was one of the items in the budget being considered for significant reductions.

The IMI program provides students from Grades 6 to 8 with the opportunity to learn to play a band or string instrument, with instruction provided by professional musicians.

At the meeting, John G. Althouse principal Susan Bois announced the future hours of music instruction for the middle school, news that was met with audible gasps from those in attendance.

Read more:

Ontario’s new class size means Toronto, York school boards forced to cut STEM classes

Toronto District School Board asked to ‘take a stand’ against Ford government cuts

School boards ‘need to get their act together,’ says Doug Ford

The school, known by the Etobicoke community as the crown jewel of the IMI program, is expected to go from 62.5 hours per week to 30 hours, come September 2019.

The way it will be structured, however, is still not confirmed.

Lara Dominguez, who attended the meeting, said the news was “way worse than even I had expected going in.”

Dominguez has two sons who completed the music program at John G. Althouse and a third who is currently attending the school.

“For a lot of kids that go through these programs, this is their music education, and it’s such a good-quality program that they can do so much,” she said, adding all three of her sons have thrived being a part of it.

Have your say:

While the news was grim for the majority of those in attendance on June 21, the meeting took an ugly turn when trustee Dan MacLean (Etobicoke Centre, Ward 2) tried to explain the reasons he voted in favour of the budget and its cuts.

In an audio recording of the meeting provided by one stakeholder in attendance, people can be heard shouting angry comments at MacLean, with one participant yelling at the trustee to put on his “big boy pants” to defend the program. MacLean told parents the trustees had until June 30 to approve a balanced budget. Not complying with the deadline would result in a supervisor being sent in by the provincial government to approve the budget for them and potentially take over the role of trustees for a number of months.

As MacLean spoke, the crowd roared in disapproval.

After one patron accused the trustee of being afraid that a takeover by a provincial government supervisor may result in a restructuring of staff at the school board, MacLean admitted that a fear of provincial government ramifications drove his decision to vote in favour of the budget.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“That we were afraid to stand up because (Premier Doug) Ford would fire the director and associate director, that’s right. That’s exactly right,” he responded.

In a later interview, MacLean said he had to choose the “lesser of two evils.”

“We had a number of meetings, and we found it was a difficult task,” he said, adding “$67.8 million is a lot of money and a reduction of a number of programs throughout the board, but we thought that that was a better solution than having the supervisor be appointed July 1.”

In addition to John G. Althouse, cuts are being made to a number of other schools that are part of the IMI program.

Some of the hours being cut from legacy programs will be redistributed to schools that previously did not have music instruction, in order to provide more equitable music instruction across the board. MacLean said the logistics behind this plan have yet to be ironed out.

MacLean added these changes do not mean John G. Althouse will no longer provide quality music instruction for its students.

“They are going to have to restructure a little bit. It will be different, but I think in the future students will continue to be excited about taking music at John G. (Althouse), and they’re going to continue to produce a great experience for our students.”

Music instructor Jules Estrin, who has children at another Etobicoke school that will experience IMI cuts, remains unconvinced.

“We’re all for equity, of course,” he said. “As music teachers and educators, we would like to see music in every school in the TDSB, no question about it; however, they are killing all the legacy music programs in Etobicoke in order to do that.”

Dominguez agrees.

“Of course it makes sense that everybody should have equal access to music programming, but I’m not sure this is the solution,” she said. “I don’t believe that breaking down the music program in order to deliver watered-down ice cubes to hundreds of other schools across the city is the right thing to do.”

When reached for comment, TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said in an email the numbers will not be finalized by the board until August.

On June 28, Estrin submitted a letter to the TDSB’s senior administration and trustees, signed by a dozen arts groups, partners and music education associations, asking the board to work with them in developing a long-term plan “where instructors have the ability to work in a successful learning and teaching environment, are able to cover curriculum, and to deliver performances that excite students and meet the expectations of parents and the community.”

Veronica Appia is a reporter with toronto.com. Reach her via email: vappia@toronto.com

Read more about: