Community members fight to save Collingswood band, district says its hands are tied

When Collingswood's beloved band director of 20 years, Joe Lerch, died suddenly in April 2023, students attended his funeral in the morning and took to the competition field that same night.

Now, members of the Panther Marching Band say it feels like they're experiencing another death.

After urging the school district to fill Lerch's teaching position for over a year, acting band director Lori Ludewig announced her decision mid-July to step down from her leadership position to a room of students and parents overcome with stillness and tears.

Ludewig had just been learned that elementary school music classes hadn't been removed from her course load as she'd requested.

"It's not like this was a surprise," said Laura Powell-Galloway, secretary of the Collingswood Panther Band Boosters.

"We all felt like we had let her down."

Ludewig, along with other teachers in the department, had stepped up to fill in Lerch's classes. She moved from assistant band director to the titular role. Then, the 2023-2024 school year passed with no additional staffing.

Since Ludewig's announcement, the Panthers have been grappling with the fact that they wouldn't have a program until the position for band director was filled, a process that a district representative said was already underway and would take student opinions into consideration.

Members in the band community are adamant that the district needs to hire an additional elementary music educator to assist with the workload shared by six music teachers across seven school buildings. They voiced their opinions at school board meetings in September 2023 and most recently on July 17.

They say the board is using Lerch's death to balance the budget.

The Collingswood school district says there's not a need to justify the hire.

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District says budgetary issues impact Collingswood school staffing

According to Assistant Superintendent Meredith Howell-Turner, Lerch's passing coincided with a reevaluation of how the school district was utilizing its resources.

Teachers at the secondary level are contractually obligated to fulfill 255 teaching minutes per day.

Between only two classes, Lerch was well under the bounds of his contract.

In fact, teachers in other departments throughout the district were also found to be under their minutes.

And, despite his two-decade tenure as Collingswood's marching band director, those hours don't count toward the same contractual obligation. Lerch received a stipend to direct the band; the position is now being advertised for about $4,800.

This course load, in addition to other music teachers, being under their obligatory minutes is what made it possible for them to cover Lerch's classes through the end of the 2023-24 school year, Howell-Turner said.

Members of the band community urged the district to hire a new elementary school music teacher, allowing Ludewig to stay at the front of the field.

But a financial squeeze led the district to to cut 15 staff and administrative roles, saving it $2.8 million, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Beth Ann Coleman.

From 2020 to 2022, the school district had received almost $5 million in various forms of federal COVID-19 funding.

Now, Coleman says expenses are so high they're "out of sight,

COVID-19 funding hasn't been renewed and the district is capped at a 2 percent tax levy increase.

That means Collingswood, along with many districts in the region, faces post-COVID budgetary issues pushing them off a fiscal cliff.

Fighting for Collingswood's band

While the district remains adamant that funding for an additional educator can't be justified given their budget, members of the band community have taken new marching orders: petitioning the school.

Started on July 20, a Change.org petition encouraging a new hire received more than 1,800 signatures by the end of the month.

The petition, started by members of the Band Boosters, describes Ludewig's efforts for the prior season as "herculean" and notes that she'd traveled daily to multiple schools in the district to fulfill her teaching duties.

According to Howell-Turner, the contractual obligation of educators working at the elementary level differs slightly from that of those only teaching at the secondary level.

Removing the elementary school classes from her schedule, however, would have put her "significantly" under her contractual obligation.

Ludewig dod not respond to requests for an interview.

One key part of the band community's concern is the perceived overexertion of the district's music department teachers.

The Change.org petition states some schools have "inappropriate grouping" of students that result in "excessively large" lesson groups.

They also worry that what qualifies a new band director on paper may not fully encompass the dedication and breadth of the position: knowing and teaching drill, familiarity with a multitude of instruments and compositions, being well-versed with applying for and navigating competitions, etc.

"Given the highly specialized requirements of this position, it is unlikely to be filled. Thus ending all plans for a Marching Band season," read the petition.

"Even if someone can be found to fill this position, it is, at best, a temporary fix that is also not sustainable. "

As of July 31, a fulfillment of the position opening had yet to be posted, but those in the band remained hopeful that they could still pull together a marching season, especially for their seniors.

Howell-Turner said the district would be working closely with the band boosters and student leadership to ensure that whoever takes over the charge of the band would be a good fit.

Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at kmccormick@gannett.com. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Community members fight to save Collingswood band, district says its hands are tied