| Monday, Sep 17 2007 (used by permission)
That's what Richard Rodriguez, Curran Middle School's instrumental music teacher, thought of his program's instruments, some of which had been around since the school opened in 1960, he said.
But a statewide grant for art, music and physical education directed from last year's budget has breathed new life into music classes now teeming with shiny new horns ... drums, woodwinds and strings.
The students at Curran are watching as their new inventory rolls in with more equipment on the way, including components for an African drumming group, Rodriguez said.
His band students sit in the new chairs designed to encourage correct posture for musicians, which affects intonation and sound clarity.
New stands hold their music and new uniforms hang in bags on the rack.
"I think the kids are really ... impressed with new things," Rodriguez said.
Raymundo Leon said "it's cool" that he gets to play one of the new tubas.
"It was pretty cool to get all this stuff," said Edith Cabral, who is playing one of the new french horns in her third year in band. "The school is starting to appreciate band."
Bakersfield City School District focused much of its $2.2 million on uniforms and equipment, said Michael Stone, the district's visual and performing arts coordinator.
"As a former band and orchestra director in the district, it solved a problem that I had as a teacher," Stone said. "(There were) never enough quality instruments. We've had to turn children away."
This funding played a significant role in teachers encouraging students to enroll in music programs, which BCSD band teachers did by performing at every school in two weeks, Stone said.
The grant's reverberations are still sounding for music instructors who weren't sure if the funds would come through.
"I wasn't surprised that (this funding) was in the initial proposal last year," said Stone, who started teaching in the district in 1989. "But I think everyone was surprised it survived."
With so much focus on test scores advancing math and English-language arts proficiency, some creative-skills teachers think this grant is a move in the right direction.
"It's about time," said Ashley Bonner-Lyon, who teaches music at Compton Junior High School. "If we don't have the creative side developed ... you can't write."
She said her students were looking forward to showing off their new uniforms at the upcoming Veterans Day parade.
"I hope the pendulum will swing back to a more reasoned approach to education," Rodriguez said.
All 47 school districts in Kern County as well as the two independent charter schools and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools received about $83 per student totaling about $13.4 million, according to Bud Burrow, assistant superintendent for administration and finance at KCSOS.
Panama-Buena Vista Union School District received $1.2 million and Kern High School District received $2.6 million, Burrow said.
The statewide total of $500 million is the largest pot of money that a state has provided for art, music and physical education in the country in memory, according to Nancy Carr, visual and performing arts consultant at the California Department of Education.
Other grant programs have been competitive, Carr said, while this one, with money going to every district in the state, was intended to reach every student. Districts decide how to prioritize their allocations.