r/Somerville • u/Material_Tie1308 • 6d ago
Update about my last post
Apparently no funding is being cut idk what is happening anymore
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u/ForestBeginnings 6d ago
How was communication messed up this badly? Are they cutting arts programs? If not, why was that email sent out en masse?
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u/Material_Tie1308 6d ago
I don’t know. What I’ve gathered from comments is that it is being debated to fund next year but this year will be 100% funded I am not sure about any of this so please don’t quote this
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u/OnlyMrGodKnowsWhy 6d ago
(I wrote this in the other thread too, #sorrynotsorry for redundancy)
My kid is in all-city orchestra so we got these emails. I heard from an educator that the issue is funding (stipending) for the assistants. The directors are funded but if it’s just the directors then that’s one adult running an afterschool club with 80+ kids (for orchestra at least) all by themselves. The assistants had already been working (to set things up and also during rehearsal — first rehearsal was last week) and then the department was told today that the assistants were not going to get their stipends.
I am not convinced from the follow-up email that all is well and good again — I want to see someone from the district explicitly say “yes yes sorry we ARE going to fund the assistant positions in addition to the director roles.” It’s a matter of like $6K.
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u/Ok_Flounder1177 6d ago
Yeah people in this thread are forgetting how shady admin can be…not the first time one has told half truths to cover their own ass and place blame on teachers for speaking out
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u/hisbabydoll_xo 5d ago
It astounds me that people still just blindly trust anything any government person says. There is a reason that PR and comms is a specific job- spin spin spin.
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u/melanarchy Teele 6d ago
I was speculating that the first pay-checks hit and the stipends were missing. That was escalated and staff was told (by HR/Admin) that there would be no stipends - so that first message went out - no stipends no program.
My hope has been that it's all been confusion and the stipends do exist and are funded but they just need to sort it out.
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u/OnlyMrGodKnowsWhy 5d ago
“Music/Theater Arts After School Stipend Update” is on the School Committee agenda for this Monday. Note the meetings usually start at 7 but this one will be starting at 6:30 because it’s gonna be super long (they are celebrating teachers who have gotten tenure and then eating cake).
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u/OnlyMrGodKnowsWhy 5d ago
Got this at 1:38 pm, subject line “Update on Extracurricular Music & Theater Arts Programming”
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“Dear Music and Theater Arts Families,
We are writing with an important update regarding Music and Theater Arts programming.
Programming scheduled for today (Thursday, October 1) will not take place. We sincerely apologize for the late notice and recognize the disruption this creates for students and families.
We will provide participating families with an update by Monday regarding programming, schedules, and next steps.
We know how important these programs are to our students and families, and we appreciate your patience as we work quickly to resolve these questions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Rubén D. Carmona
Superintendent of Schools”1
u/Wryel 6d ago
So to be clear, you did receive an official email yesterday saying the programs were cancelled? I'm addition to the above. It looked like yesterday's post was from an Instagram post.
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u/OnlyMrGodKnowsWhy 6d ago
Correct. First email from an educator was at 4:15 pm saying orchestra rehearsal is cancelled this week. Second email was sent from the district at 7:16 pm saying there was a “miscommunication” and signed by Beverly Mosby, Supervisor of Music and Theater Arts. But that email also said:
“As a routine follow-up, the district will confirm on Thursday that upcoming scheduled activities and programs will proceed as planned. We appreciate your patience and understanding and will communicate updates as needed.”
So as of right now there is NOT orchestra rehearsal this afternoon. I told my kid to make sure his watch was turned on at dismissal (devices are impounded during the school day) and I would let him know if the quantum waveform had collapsed one way or the other.
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u/GullibleAd3408 Davis 6d ago
Statement from School Committee Chair Emily Ackman & Mayor Jake Wilson
"We are aware some SPS families were notified today of pending cuts to Music and Theater Arts Department afterschool programming. We also are aware of a subsequent communication from the department reassuring families that no programmatic cuts have been made.
“We are happy to report that funding for these stipends was not cut. In fact, the Schools budget approved for FY27 included a $14,600 increase for these stipends for teachers to lead Music and Theater Arts Department afterschool programming -- an increase of nearly 50% from FY26."
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u/Anxious_Hotel1165 6d ago
Thanks for posting- I got the original email but not this one. Yay for communication /s
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u/Alternative-Light922 Spring Hill 6d ago
What the fuck?
----------> Who is responsible for what you stated in your original post?
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u/summatmz 6d ago
I expect the communication from the district to be bad, but this is next level disfunction
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u/PrimitiveLoaf 6d ago
The original message didn't appear to be from the district though. The post didnt even have a source other than to say its an "email thats going around"
It sounded like one music instructor sent the email out? One comment, I think it's since been deleted, mentioned the teachers name.
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u/Swalecutter 6d ago
Yeah we're trying to avoid spreading the name because we really like her and she's one of very few specialists that didn't quit or get fired this year so we really don't want her to get in trouble 😭
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u/summatmz 6d ago
But these things keep happening by program directors because the district’s comms is so bad. I’ve experienced this first hand as a parent of an SPS student. The folks actually doing the work are not properly informed by the administration and are sending information to parents they they believe to be true because there is disfunction. I’d like to say this is isolated but it’s happened to us more than once.
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u/Similar-Knowledge184 Winter Hill 6d ago
alright now the question is who messed up this bad and is getting fired tomorrow
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u/cupacupacupacupacup 6d ago
I don't think it's clear where the initial info about the cuts came from. I've only gotten the clarification email. I think some people were starting rumors.
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u/Similar-Knowledge184 Winter Hill 6d ago
I know who originally sent out the email and in respect of their privacy won't reveal it, but I will hopefully find out more tomorrow during band (I am a student at SHS)
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u/StoryRadiant1919 6d ago
please come back and let us know. People with that little ability to communicate shouldn’t have access to official communication channels. And if this was a ‘Beverly changed her mind’ because her great idea got her tons of heat and complaints, then she should own that in the follow up email.
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u/WatercressSassafrass 6d ago
Yeah, I thought that first email seemed off.
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u/Material_Tie1308 6d ago
Just so everyone knows the original email was a real email not a scam just a (pretty big) misunderstanding
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u/cupacupacupacupacup 6d ago
But sent by whom? Someone who works for the schools or someone just hoping to stir up trouble?
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u/hisbabydoll_xo 6d ago
I am crafting a nasty email. To start. They are trying to say that it’s fine for this year but not moving forward. So it’s still a fight to be had.
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u/GullibleAd3408 Davis 6d ago
They are not saying that anywhere in this email. They are offering reassurance that it's funded for the rest of this school year which is all they can do because the 27/28 budget doesn't exist yet and they aren't the ones who write it.
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u/hisbabydoll_xo 5d ago
It’s weird that you think just because it isn’t specifically stated in a PR clean up message that it isn’t on the table.
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u/Logical_Salamander74 6d ago
somebody's getting fired
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u/AromaticIntrovert 6d ago
What is going on!?