KALKASKA CO. -- A local high school has gone an entire year without a band program due to budget cuts, but Monday the district hit a high note and was able to reinstate music to the classroom.
Forest Area Schools eliminated band to fill a $260,000 budget deficit.
The district's superintendent, Suzanne Cybulla says, "It was heart wrenching, it really was for the board, community, and students. It was only done because we had to."
Students met on their own time just to practice. They could not compete since they were not funded by the district, but they did have Iraq War Veteran Brandon Deike who volunteered his time to teach them.
Cybulla says they crunched the numbers and came up with a plan to start band back up this year. The district also decided to hire Mr. Deike as the new music teacher and band director.
