We have had two children who have successfully gone through the Butler public schools, and we can say without a doubt that the Butler School District’s music program has allowed for both of our children to develop in leadership, confidence, academics and community commitment.

Andrew Yaracs, Kathy Groves, Jeff Kroner and Barbara Bailey had a lot to do with both of our children becoming the successful and responsible adults they have grown to become.

When our children entered the band program, we knew it would be an expensive and valuable commitment, which they gladly took on from band camps to weekly practices and Friday night games away and home.

Yaracs and his team were able to organize 300 students to participate in various trips to Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and various other destinations that our children otherwise might never have experienced.

The discipline required for band is as much as for an athlete. However, I do not hear anything about cutting any sports .

The stands on a typical Friday night football game hold as many parents, if not more, cheering for the band than the football team.

The music program at Butler is a program that has benefited the Butler community in countless ways and should continue to be funded, regardless of our current state cutbacks. It would be a huge disadvantage to the students and the community to do any less.

I am hoping that the community of Butler will rally around the school board members as they make these difficult decisions.