RADNOR — During a school board meeting in Radnor this past week, several residents expressed concerns about purported cuts in some of Radnor School District’s programs.

School officials say nothing is being cut, but the district must make decisions each year on elective classes that are offered based on the number of students signing up for various programs.

Resident Heather Gill told the school board that her goal in speaking was to put the district on a trajectory to enhance, rather than remove, these classes.

“We need to have an arts program that is inclusive [and] diverse, which will not be achieved by removing classes,” Gill said. “I and other parents would like to understand the process for how classes were removed. Is it a numbers issue? Is it a budget issue? Was this discussed at a school board meeting or other curriculum-type meetings?

Natalie Duman, a 2024 Radnor graduate, described herself as a proud alum of Radnor’s performing arts programs ensembles and classes, including technical theater, musical theater, honors acting, and AP music theory.

“The news that several of these electives and more are being removed from the curriculum next year is greatly upsetting to me,” Duman said. “I speak on behalf of my fellow arts alumni when I say this decision was made without consideration for the benefits these courses bring. Removing these classes leaves prospective art students unprepared for college applications and courses. Currently, I am a rising sophomore at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, majoring in musical theater, and I can vouch that these courses have been a major asset. For example, the AP Music Theory credit is no longer just an advantage for aspiring college musicians. It is a near necessity.”

Radnor’s Superintendent, Ken Batchelor, disputed the idea that any classes were being permanently eliminated. Instead, each year, they must evaluate classes based on the number of students interested in those classes.

“First off — the board, the administration — no one is cutting the arts,” Batchelor said. “No one has any interest in cutting the arts. No one wants to cut the arts. Everybody’s trying to figure out how do we encourage more of our students to stay involved in the arts, and yes, we did see a big decrease, especially after COVID.”

According to Batchelor, in 2018-2019, Radnor had 144 students signed up for band. For next year, there are 92 students signed up for band.

“Nothing is being cut. Nothing is being taken out of our course selection booklet,” Batchelor said. “All those courses and programs are still there. What happens each year, though, is the high school administration has to look at where kids sign up.” 

Batchelor said they ran the AP Music Theory class with five students this year, hoping more students would sign up for this year. For the upcoming year, only four are signed up.

In the case of the Modern Band class, only one student is signed up.

Other classes mentioned by Batchelor with a small number of students signed up include the Behind the Scenes class, which has three students signed up; two students are signed up for Integrated Global Studies; four are signed up for the sculpture class, and five are signed up for Young Adult Literature.

“So what’s happening now is the discussion,” he said. “This isn’t about the board cutting. This isn’t about budget. The arts — we value the arts. I don’t know any board member, [or] administrator, that doesn’t truly value the arts and wants to figure out how do we continue to build up these programs, especially when we see our students are making different selections.”