Students and parents asked Timberlane leaders on Dec. 11 to spare the district's music and performing-arts programs from proposed FY27 cuts, saying those programs provide social and academic supports that would be difficult to rebuild once removed.

Chair Karen read a multi-signature letter from students Cameron Stack and Sebastian Schell that warned the current FY27 reduction process could eliminate "two of the 12 music teachers in the district, cutting transportation, summer band camp, and extracurricular stipends, eliminating the middle and high school musicals," and argued the changes would "dismantle the structure that makes the Timberlane music program so impactful for over 1,000 student musicians." The letter concluded with an appeal: "Please protect the music, theater, and performing arts programs that make Timberlane a place where kids can thrive."

Public commenters echoed the plea. Kane Guthrie and Michael Boucher told the committee their communities value extracurricular arts and music opportunities and asked elected members to weigh long-term educational consequences when identifying cuts. Julia Doherty, a parent from Atkinson, specifically warned that cuts such as raised elementary class sizes or reduced transportation would have outsized effects on families without safe routes for walking to school.

Board members said they heard the concerns and built them into their prioritization. "We understand the need for fiscal responsibility," a student letter read, "but the decisions made now will shape the lives of students for years to come." The board asked administration to show the educational impact of proposed reductions before finalizing cuts in warrant articles.

What happens next: the board and budget committee said they will include the community feedback and provide program-level impact analyses to show what the approved reductions would mean for music and extracurricular programming ahead of the deliberative session.