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Kate Green / Things
From left to right, Miro Holland, 13, Jack Harris, 15, and Louis Holland, 15, with their jazz group, the Mel Stevenson Band, performing on the street. All three attended classes at the Wellington Music Center and would be sad to see him go.
A decades-old music program plans to close its doors, with new regulations after a pedophile scandal, too heavy a burden for the host school.
The Wellington Music Center is part of a program that has been run in various schools across the country since 1957, offering a cheaper way for families to pay for music lessons that would otherwise be unaffordable.
Island Bay School currently houses the center, but parents and students are devastated by the news that the school will not only vacate the center, but will close it entirely.
All centers received new regulations and administrative responsibilities following the revelation that convicted pedophile Stephen Shone was teaching private lessons for a school-age student and up to 12 music sessions at the school.
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Kate Green / Things
Mel Stevenson’s band performs on Wellington’s waterfront.
Generally, if a school no longer wants to host an after-hours music center, they simply notify the center staff that they want them to leave and house them until they find a new home.
This happened in 2012 when the center moved from Evans Bay Intermediate to Island Bay School, and the funds were transferred to the new host.
Louis Holland, 15, and his brother Miro, 13, attended the center when they were younger.
Louis spent eight years on the show, learning violin, trombone, and piano, and said his life would not be the same without its early influence.
After hearing the news, he initiated a petition, which has since obtained more than 450 signatures, to prevent the closure of the 60-year-old institution.
The students enjoyed the opportunity to test an instrument with no long-term commitment or cost, he said. “It would be a real shame if other kids didn’t have that.”
His mother Leah Haines said the music community was “reeling.”
“Low-income families depend on these centers to access music lessons that would otherwise be unaffordable.”
The best solution would be for the program to move to a different host school and for Island Bay to continue hosting until it is found.
PINK WOODS / THINGS
Island Bay School currently houses the music center, but is taking steps to close its doors.
Even closing the center in the meantime would be an embarrassment to the students and a great loss of momentum for the program.
Island Bay School principal Deborah Fenton said the final decision had not yet been made.
“The board will consider all opinions expressed and will not consider a final decision until the consultation is over.”
The school’s arrangements had to be aligned with current law and practice, Fenton said, some of which were changed after the Stephen Shone incident.
“This would have been done whether the school had to act on a particular case or not.”
PINK WOODS / THINGS
Island Bay School has hosted the program since 2012.
The school received funds to be used at the center, but needed to review its operation in light of the administrative costs it now faced.
These included “time-consuming processes” such as police investigation and the establishment of formal working relationships with teachers, some only employed for a few hours or as relievers during a session.
According to the school’s preliminary presentation to the board, the job increase required a full day of work per week for the assistant principal, more than four hours a week for the office staff, and at least two hours a week for Fenton. , who also spent 60 hours on Saturdays in 2019.
“Despite their best efforts, it is clear to senior management that this increased burden is unsustainable relative to their own capabilities and that of the administrative staff.”
The Education Ministry’s undersecretary for sector empowerment and support, Katrina Casey, said the school board commissioned an independent review and consulted with the community to decide whether or not to continue the program.
“If Island Bay School decides not to continue hosting the program, we will work with them to find a suitable alternative host school.”
Fenton said the ministry should look at what could be done with these programs to avoid additional administrative burdens for the host schools.
