McBride, who helped to organize her school’s walkout, said budget cuts proposed by School District 61 would reduce choir to one lesson per week and cut string instruments entirely from elementary and middle schools.
Daytime janitors are also on the chopping board, which McBride said she didn’t think was smart given the COVID pandemic.
Samara Dolinsky, also in Grade 10 at Esquimalt, said that decision could have a worse impact on already present anxiety.
Band and music programs are the only avenues for connections outside of grade and class aside from sports, Marchesan said.