Senator Paul Utke (R-Park Rapids) presented legislation today that would broaden access to music education in rural Minnesota. The bill, S.F. 423, would appropriate funding to the MacPhail Center for Music, to supplement and enhance existing music programming in our greater Minnesota schools.

“Over the past few years we have seen the MacPhail Center for Music partner with school districts across Minnesota enhancing educational opportunities for children who had previously been limited by their school’s budget and geographical restrictions,” said Senator Paul Utke. “This is a great program that has had an immediate impact in the districts where it has been implemented and one that we would like to see expanded to other school districts in the state.”

The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation’s oldest and largest community-based music education non-profits. The organization prides itself as a community resource for music learning, events, and partnerships serving more than 16,000 students across the state through 113 different programs.

Their online school partnerships are customized to support the music goals and supply resources of individual schools. Working through live video-conferencing, the program gives educators and students access to MacPhail specialists on a variety of musical offerings ranging from clinics and sectionals to concert prep, professional development, and individual lessons.

In the 2017-2018 school year, MacPhail partnered with 24 schools across the state improving educational outcomes across the board. Unfortunately, based on their current funding structure, that was the maximum number of schools they could reach, creating a waiting list of other schools throughout the state.