By Sean Mueck
Musical and performing arts programs in Benicia have long been hailed as valuable outlets for students to express themselves creatively. Despite the struggles, these programs have survived and succeeded in providing valuable resources and communities within the school district.
Arts programs in the United States have always had an upwards battle since their inception. Programs frequently have to prove their worth against core classes and sports which regularly leads to budget cuts, defunding, and the removal of the class altogether.
Benicia has a rich musical and performing arts community, along with great teachers who lead successful programs. However, arts programs in Benicia still face turmoil every day in their fight to survive.
But, despite the current negative news surrounding BUSD’s arts programs, they still overcome adversity every day because of their students’ hard work and dedication to the program.
The Benicia High School drama program recently performed their most recent play, Seussical The Musical, which garnered support from friends, family, and many more.
The Benicia High School band program recently competed at the Livingston Band Review where they took home first place in Marching, Concert, Cologuard, Drummajor, and Drumline.
Even though students’ hard work and dedication has brought large success, their respective programs still struggle in their fight to survive.
The band program has faced many challenges with their funding. Most of the money used for the band program is raised and donated by students and parents. The program also runs events such as the Benicia Classic Car Show, which was completely run by band volunteers in order to garner money for next year’s excursions.
Despite the money raised, the program is exceedingly expensive to run. Even with extensive fundraising, the monetary support of the district is still necessary for the program to happen. Even though the district supports band programs, there have been times when they suggested pulling funding because of a lack of resources. The fight to keep Benicia band programs afloat is far from new, and is most likely far from over.
The drama program is facing numerous hardships as well. Recently it has come to students’ attention that the drama department will no longer be credited starting next school year. This is a significant blow to all students in the program, who work very hard to have their program succeed.
Drama students attended the most recent student forum to ask some questions to staff on the status of the program. When asked what made them attend the student forum, Macksyn Peterson said, “We came here to ensure that Benicia High School has a well funded and effective drama production program that will support queer youth within the school.”
The fight to have a drama program for next school year is deeply important to many of the drama students, as it stands as an accepting and valuable school community.
In response to the questions over the future of the high school drama department, superintendent Damon J. Wright released a statement on the Benicia Unified School District’s website. He went on to state that, “Contrary to what has been circulating, the Benicia Unified School District values the Drama program and has committed to investing in its long-term stability through enhanced programming and an upgraded Performance Arts Building. Several misconceptions occurred because the Drama program has experienced a reduction in program sections over the past couple of years. These reductions are directly related to decreased student interest and enrollment, not the District’s intent to reduce the program.”
In response to how the program would be rebuilt, Mr. Wright stated that “The Benicia Unified School District operates on a student-centered master schedule, which allocates sections based on the courses selected during course registration. Unfortunately, this year, only seventeen students expressed interest in the Drama 1, Drama 2, and Drama 3 courses combined during course registration, which is typically not enough student interest to operate a class. However, the District recognizes the value and importance of Drama in our community. We are committed to continuing the class through Prop 28 funding and joining efforts to rebuild the program.”
Whether you are in a performing arts program, have a friend in one, or have family members in one, know that the fight is never over to help keep afloat programs which build valuable bonds and skills, along with enriching our community.
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