Analy Dance and other classes on the (tentative) chopping block
Massive showing of support for dance teacher Jolene Johnson and her dance program
UPDATE: The dance classes discussed in this article have been taken off the list of tentative cuts.
The March 5 board meeting of the West Sonoma County Unified High School District was unusually well-attended, thanks to an item that put dance classes at Analy in jeopardy. Because of the large number of people in attendance—students, parents, even grandparents, all there to support the dance program—Board Chair Lewis Buchner moved the item to the top of the regular agenda.
At issue was a series of preliminary cuts that the district administration had to make in order to send layoff notices to teachers by March 15. The classes to be put on the preliminary chopping block were as follows:
The cuts are measured in terms of teacher hours: FTE stands for full-time equivalent, so one FTE is basically one full-time employee.
1.0 FTE Academic Support Instructional Services
.40 FTE CTE (Arts, Music, & Entertainment - Dance) Instructional Services
.20 FTE CTE (Arts, Music, & Entertainment - Instrumental Music) Instructional Services
.40 FTE English Instructional Services
.20 FTE Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Teacher on Special Assignment Instructional Services
.20 FTE Fine Arts Teacher on Special Assignment Instructional Services
1.0 FTE Mathematics Instructional Services
.60 FTE Physical Education Instructional Services
.40 FTE Social Sciences Instructional Services
1.0 FTE Special Education Instructional Services
.20 FTE WASC Teacher on Special Assignment Instructional Services
This comes to a total of 5.6 FTE. According to the staff report, retirements, resignations, leaves of absence, and temporary releases, will absorb all but 1.2 FTE of these reductions. The dance program is in the latter category.
While a reduction of .40 FTE means a 40% reduction in hours for the dance program, it does not mean that hours will be cut for teacher Jolene Johnson, who last year won the first-ever Arts Educator of the Year award presented by the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and Creative Sonoma, both of which sent representatives to plead with the board not to cut the Analy Dance program. Johnson would just be given other classes to teach.
One of the great ironies of the evening was that the Board was set to declare March as Art Education Month at the same time that it was readying itself to cut one of the school’s best known art programs: its dance classes.
Ashleigh Worley, director of Education and Community Engagement at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, spoke directly to this point:
“Tonight, you are proposing to recognize March as Arts Education Month in the same month that we are looking at these cuts, which is very unfortunate. The decision isn't about numbers. It’s really about our students. It’s about our teachers and the cultural heart of our schools. One of the teachers, as we’ve all heard, impacted by these cuts, is Jolene Johnson. She represents the very best of arts education here in our county…I just want to highlight the fact that cutting classes such as hers removes the opportunity for students to explore the arts, and it sends a message that their creativity and their passions are expendable. We cannot, in good conscience, do this to our students. Arts is not a privilege. Arts education is a necessity. Let’s recognize arts education, not just in words, but in action. Ensure that teachers like Jolene and the programs that they serve remain a vital part of our students’ education.”
Lana McNamara read a letter from dance teacher Jolene Johnson: “If you cut any two classes, you are either preventing me from growing the program or developing the CTE pathway with rigor and appropriate differentiation…Additionally, our three-year Fine Arts Prop 28 plan has not yet been completed, so you are cutting it without seeing it through. Analy gets $13,800 per kid, so we only need two new kids at our school to technically fund my other section.”
Johnson pointed out that, with the drastic cuts at Art Quest at Santa Rosa High School, Analy stood to gain many potential students, but only if it kept its art offerings, including dance, intact.
One after another, more than a dozen current and past dance students (and their parents) stood up and told the board how much this class meant to them. Many said it was their favorite class, and more than one said it was the only reason they came to school at all.
Analy English and theater teacher Lillian Borgeson said, “I know from the Youth Truth data and our WASC report that the students’ sense of belonging is a huge priority for us. I spend a lot of time with teenagers as a teacher and as a parent, and you know what is a major safe haven for students who feel like they don’t belong: arts programs. I don’t understand how we can say belonging is our number one priority, while at the same time taking away classes that foster such an incredible space for community and belonging…Also, I can’t ignore the gender dynamics. The reality is I do not see a strong effort from our school to combat toxic masculinity in our school culture, and now one of our few CTE pathways that is a draw for primarily female-identifying students is being gutted after pouring resources into CTE programs traditionally appealing to males.”
Several speakers mentioned Proposition 28, the Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, which passed in 2022. The measure required the state to establish a new, ongoing program supporting arts instruction, and is expected to bring $209,314 in arts funding to Analy next year, and $231,000 to the district as a whole.
“If this decision is being justified as a financial necessity, we need to take a closer look at the numbers,” said Analy student Jonah Caron. “The purpose of Prop 28 is to stabilize funding for arts and music education so that schools can develop and maintain high quality programs.”
In an interview after the meeting, WSCUHSD Board Member Jeanne Fernandes explained that Proposition 28 can only be used to support new art programs, not an existing program like dance.
Despite Analy Dance’s passionate supporters, Fernandes said, at this point in time, there just aren’t enough students in the dance program to justify a full day of dance classes, though she said that may change depending on whether more kids sign up for next year’s dance classes. Student class request forms were due last Friday, March 7. Fernandes said it will take a while to see how those shake out.
At last Wednesday’s board meeting, after more than an hour of public comment (virtually all in support of the dance program), the WSCUHSD board voted unanimously to approve the tentative cuts to dance and the other classes/positions mentioned at the top of this article.
The deadline to make these cuts final is May 14.
Arts education of all types is a necessity, and Jolene is an exceptional teacher. I hope with these unfortunate cuts she considers doing and is offered more work at SRJC, where her students could continue their studies with her while in high school and beyond.
I’m an alum from El Molino and it is sad to see our west county schools struggling. But happy to see so much support for the dance program at Analy. When I was at El Molino I was in the dance program where we learned to use our bodies, our strength and expression to make beautiful art. Hope the dance building is still being used in some way! I would absolutely be happy to jump on an organizing campaign to help the dance program at Analy and it is commendable work Jolene is doing with her students.