OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KCTV) – Blue Valley School District teachers warned parents that the elementary school orchestra program could be eliminated due to budget shortfalls and schedule changes. Several teachers sent an email with a letter to parents saying the fifth-grade orchestra program could be cut starting in the 2026-27 school year.
Statement from Blue Valley Schools
The district says these are exploratory conversations with no decisions made at this time. The district released a statement:
Music community responds to potential cuts
Mike Meyer, co-owner of Meyer Music in Overland Park, said the potential cuts concern him. His family started the business in 1966 and has helped dozens of schools across the metro with their music programs.
“The arts, first of all, are one of the first things that everybody targets for cuts,” Meyer said. “Cutting orchestra in the schools is a large, large mistake.”
Meyer said fifth grade is critical to keep children on a musical track. He worries that eliminating this program could affect other band programs in middle and high school.
“There’s a very good likelihood that they just will not have time in the day to do it when it’s in middle school,” Meyer said. “If they’ve had exposure to it in fifth grade and have enjoyed it and seen how it really affects them, now they go into sixth grade educated with a solid elective that they know that they wanna do for the whole way through.”
Parents advocate for program
Lainey, a Blue Valley Schools parent whose son started with the fifth-grade orchestra program and continued in middle school, said the news made her heart drop.
“We’ve had a wonderful teacher. The program’s been great,” she said. “It’s just something he really enjoys doing. It frees stress. It’s beautiful.”
The teachers’ letter to families encouraged parents to contact district leadership and advocate for the program. Meyer echoed that call.
“Call the school district and tell them that this is something that is valued,” Meyer said.
The letter noted that Blue Valley’s music programs are consistently recognized at the state and national levels, with strong representation in ECKMEA District and KMEA All-State Orchestra.
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