It’s ironic that the Kent School District is considering cutting music and (physical education) PE, seemingly without considering other options.

Ironic how?

Look only to some of the latest headlines to see fairly recent Kent graduates in both fields who are literally at the top of their game.

Lindsay Moore, who is arguably one of the best women’s basketball players, or of course Stefano Langone whose meteoric rise to fame on American Idol has put the city (and by default the school district) of Kent  on the map.

I took the time to fill out the Kent School District online survey and it was weighted heavily to reduce or cut these programs with very little other recourse. The administration needs to find another way to fix this problem potentially using unpaid time off, closing district offices for multiple weeks during the summer with only essential services available on-call.

Like many other local residents during this financial meltdown, I went for several years with no bonus and no pay increase while all other costs around me continued to rise. Tightening our belt and sucking it up is, for good or bad, the American way.

Dr (Edward)Vargas, start at the top and cut deep and wide at the administrative level first, look at other alternatives used by other state agencies.

Once your house is in order can you effectively say there are no other alternatives. Otherwise cutting music and PE are only a recipe for disaster for all the kids.

Frank D. Reed

Kent