ARE EDUCATORS in Harford County serious about dropping instrumental music from elementary schools, or are they just playing the public like a fiddle?

Harford's Board of Education is mulling 35 budget cuts that Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas describes as "bloody." The board wanted its list to remain secret until it meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at C. Milton Wright High and Wednesday at Southampton Middle in Bel Air. But a proposal to drop elementary instrumental music was leaked, and school phones haven't stopped ringing.

If this is a ruse by the system, it merits an "F" for originality. School boards at times cynically threaten instrumental music, athletics and gifted and talented classes because that ensures a clamor for more education money. If the administration isn't serious about such draconian cuts, it unnecessarily antagonizes the public. And if it is serious, it's irrational.

Children are inclined to try an instrument and stay with it if they pick it up early. Delaying band until middle school guarantees that many will never experiment with an instrument. Research has shown that the discipline learned in music aids other learning.

Harford is searching for a big cut so it can reconcile two numbers that don't add up: 2 and 20. The county finished second in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program, yet its teachers rank 20th of 24 jurisdictions in salary. Ms. Haas believes the county's status as one of the worst-paying will hurt retention and recruitment. That's a legitimate concern, but it hasn't happened.

About 7 percent of Harford's corps left teaching this year, below the state average of 9 percent, according to state figures. Few teachers hop around for more pay: only 151 out of 48,800 Maryland teachers switched systems last year. Harford may need a long-term fix. Sacrificing elementary instrumental music isn't it.

Pub Date: 3/31/99