Belpre school board drops marching band
By JOLENE CRAIG
POSTED: May 20, 2008
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The four board members voted to approve the “non-renewal” of the marching band and flags supplemental contracts for the 2008-2009 school year.
Board president Rod Hineman said the district chose to eliminate the marching band and flags programs because of the low participation numbers.
“There were 13 students in the band this year,” Hineman said. “It’s not a credible marching band. . . it just made sense to cut the program.”
Sharon Cooper, president of the Belpre Band Boosters, said she is disappointed because she thought the board would have a discussion about the elimination of the program and let supporters speak.
“How can you have a Friday night football game with no marching band?” Cooper said. “It makes no sense.”
Cooper said the marching band program is self-supporting and does fundraising to pay for competitions and other things the program needs.
“The parents are supportive and willing to go out next year,” she said. “The kids are devastated.”
The district will continue the instrumental music program as a class.
The elimination of the marching band program also means the elimination of the second band director position, now held by Andy Bennekamper. The loss of the flags program means flags director Angela Lopez will not be re-hired in the supplemental position next year.
Bennekamper will lose his job because he has the least seniority of the two band instructors.
It is unknown how much money the district will save by terminating these programs and two positions, said Superintendent Harry Fleming.
The district is expected to vote on the elimination of Bennekamper’s position during the June 23 meeting, Fleming said.
In keeping with the restructuring, the board also approved the reduction-in-force of 10 classified positions.
The positions include one secretary, two cooks and two custodians at Stone Elementary School. The other positions in this agenda item are a teacher/library aide at Belpre Elementary School, one 17-and-one-half hour kindergarten aide and all three-and-one-half-hour kindergarten aide positions.
These positions will be reposted and bid by seniority, Fleming said.
These cuts are a number of many the district has been working on since realizing it was not able to keep running in the same manner.
In April, the board voted in favor of a reorganization plan that would close Stone Elementary, move kindergarten through sixth-grade students to Belpre Middle School and move the seventh- through 12th-graders to the high school campus, using both Belpre Elementary and Belpre High School there.
Including staff cuts and leaving one building empty, the plan is expected to save the district more than $400,000 next year.
Member Comments
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BelpreBoy
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05-26-08 8:57 AM
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Spider1, I was talking about Waterford beating all the big bands in the past, even Warren, they have won many grand champs and runner-ups. In 2007 I knew they had a good year and your info shows that. Size does not always matter, it's quality. Thanks for the info.
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Spider1
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05-26-08 12:42 AM
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Waterford (24 members in 2007) did not beat Warren, but they took Grand Champion at Fort Frye, beating the larger bands (John Glenn and Gallia Academy to name a few). They also beat about 6 Class AA (largest class in Ohio) bands at The OSU Buckeye Invitational. I am very sad to hear that the Belpre HS students will be missing out on the Marching Band experience. Maybe things will change in the future? Good luck!
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belpreisbeingrobbed
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05-23-08 10:44 AM
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There is a good article today in the Marietta Times about the Belpre Band Boosters. I don't know why it's not in the News. Bravo to all these commentators. It's a greedy, hard-hearted bunch that are punishing our kids and community this way.
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FiscalIntegrity
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05-22-08 12:38 PM
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The May agenda just went up. Now if we can just get the "agenda" on the Thursday before the meeting instead of after, I think we might be able to get a few more interested people out to the board meeting and maybe find out for sure if VanPelt is now a band director after being a choir director for all these years, and why the teachers' union is quiet in a year when they're negotiating salary and benefits and their president had to change his job description to avoid getting laid off.
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FiscalIntegrity
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05-22-08 11:40 AM
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This is Thursday and the Board just posted on its site "highlights" of this meeting, which mention nothing of what the above article states. The "Agenda" section is still blank. Why can't they post the agenda at least a couple days ahead of time, so that citizens can be informed? I've called (740-423-9511) them, over the last year, five or six times and was told in so many words that it was tough to put the agendas up in html, and they were doing their best. Ha! You can't put out edited "highlights" if you first put out full agendas. Also, you can't hold public meetings in empty rooms if the public knows what's going on ahead of time as they should. I hope other people will call and ask this also and other questions and share answers.
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BelpreBoy
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05-22-08 9:41 AM
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As I remember at Band competitions little Waterford Band (25 members) beat out almost everyone (even Warren) for Grand Champ runner-up. Would you say their experience was not that of a larger band since they only had 25?
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BelpreBoy
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05-22-08 9:39 AM
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Littleanna, they did ask the students and their reply was they wanted to march with Belpre. There are less than 13 cheerleaders each year, but that activity is continued. Would you want to transfer schools your senior year just to march band?
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Beentheredonethat
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05-21-08 11:19 PM
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There is enough blame to go around. The public has changed; many parents used to be upward mobile and valued an education. Now many are single parents whose goals for their children go no further than a pickup truck with gun rack and a six pack. Students used to think that an education was important and they should at least try. Now they expect to do no homework and play games in class. A part of this is due to the fact that Belpre is not growing and another part is due to the influx of low income housing. Some teachers have decided to fight no more grade battles and just give the students the grades their parents want. Administrators want no waves so that levies pass (top priority) so they make decisions based on what will make the most people happy not based on what is right. Belpre will not improve until the public wants it and is willing to pay for it, new independent thinking school board elected, and current administrators in the central office are replaced.
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Flemingmustgo
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05-21-08 11:01 PM
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Littlenana, Bennekamper is the Band Director...there is not another band director. He taught band and instrumental music. VanPelt (former elementary band/choir)is now doing a reading grant and there is a choir director. It is my understanding that VanPelt is going to be transfered back to music. Therefore the two will split the k-12 instrumental and vocal program.
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littlenana
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05-21-08 9:40 PM
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They eliminated an entire band program? No that is not what it said. They are keeping a band director, and band will still be offered. A Marching Band of 13 is not the "marching band experience". Ask the students? Are they willing to transfer to a different school? At this point ending marching band is not just a financial decision, it is also a merciful end to something that students don't want to commit to. And yes, I marched Belpre Band, and my child marched Warren band.
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Flemingmustgo
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05-21-08 9:35 PM
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BTW, that's $220,000 a year!
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Flemingmustgo
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05-21-08 9:34 PM
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Researching the minutes and salaries...I discovered if Belpre cuts the Director of Instruction, one school psychologist, athletic contest manager, and not hire a new asst. high school principal it would save over $220,000 in salaries and benefits. And yet they eliminated an entire band program and our superintendent doesn't even know how much it saved. Sad!
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Dreams4thefuture
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05-21-08 4:00 PM
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It will require us standing together and in public and stating the issue. We need a forum to unite.
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BelpreBoy
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05-21-08 3:01 PM
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Well stated Fiscalresponsibility! Belpre unite and hold these guys accountable.
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FiscalIntegrity
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05-21-08 2:54 PM
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No one should be disturbed by the time anyone spends on a blog like this as long as the truth comes out. Belpre has been a community much spoken out against and shamed by people that are lying to it and robbing it blind in the process. I'm sure all the activity on this blog led at least in part to the editorial in the News today. It is also rash to assume that the people that contribute to this blog are not also at board of ed. meetings, volunteer in the schools, at little league and other youth sports organizations, and otherwise serve the community well. This is just one way to get the truth out. The problems of the Belpre City Schools will never be solved by people who don't live in or respect this wonderful town. Way to go to all who gave information and insight into this issue!
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Dreams4thefuture
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05-20-08 9:51 PM
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Since the school board does not have the guts to take control of the school system. Can the community do a recall on the board and get rid of them NOW?
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Flemingmustgo
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05-20-08 6:42 PM
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I think the "big picture" is not the band director. It is the fact that the community, parents, and kids are getting shafted because of someone's large ego.
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annoyed
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05-20-08 5:26 PM
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Maybe if they'd got rid of the lousy band director years ago there wouldn't be only 13 people and they wouldn't have needed to dissolve the band.
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Dreams4thefuture
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05-20-08 4:54 PM
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Explain why more administrators? These kids need more support staff. So lets get rid of the aids and the cooks and get more administrators. As for Plummer, Why do we need a dean of students that is not certified? Have all these new hires actually passed civil service? These would be interesting answers.. Some one needs to start pushing the hard envelope....
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Flemingmustgo
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05-20-08 4:17 PM
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So when is the school board and Superintendent going to show that Belpre is a place "Where Education Comes First?" Certainly not by the potential "cuts" they are making...show where the money is being saved!!!
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wildbill
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05-20-08 3:27 PM
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This is nothing more than the School Board's way of punishing the community for refusing to pass another levy. Hineman is pretty passive aggressive, I learned that in High School, if you refused to give blood, your Government grade would mysteriously drop.
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BelpreBoy
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05-20-08 2:50 PM
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Free Country, you are entitled to your opinion. I can handle your opinion as well as any one else's.
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REALLYDISTURBED
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05-20-08 2:43 PM
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I think yours and everyone elses work on this post pretty much speaks for itself
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BelpreBoy
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05-20-08 2:33 PM
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I do not think that my time on the computer has any direct result of how things are working within the district. If you have information that deems differently please feel free to share.
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REALLYDISTURBED
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05-20-08 2:26 PM
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sounds like it works well for all involved... including the students of belpre high school
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