Music Cuts and Reverse Economics

With spring breaks arriving across Texas this week—Indiana and other inconvenient "balanced calendar" folks close behind—it felt like a good moment to revisit an important idea. As schools begin thinking about staffing and budgets for the coming year, this concept is worth remembering.

The argument is simple:

Cutting music programs often costs districts more money in the long run.

This principle, known as Reverse Economics, was articulated by Dr. John L. Benham in his book Music Advocacy: Moving from Survival to Vision (2011). The explanation below is adapted from my 2015 doctoral treatise, Competencies of the Central Office Music Administrator: Texas Music Administrators’ Perspectives.

Many people do not realize that strengthening in-school music programs can actually save money (Benham, 2011). This is another example of the disconnect that sometimes exists between what research demonstrates and what institutions choose to do.

Because music classes can serve large numbers of students with relatively high student-teacher ratios, cutting music programs or eliminating music Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)—often the first “quick fix” during budget shortfalls—creates negative long-term financial consequences (Benham, 2011).

While there may be initial cost savings, districts eventually must hire additional classroom teachers as the students who would have been enrolled in music move into other elective courses that operate with much lower student-teacher ratios.

Benham summarizes the effect clearly:

“Any circumstance that causes a decline in student enrollment or prevents students from participation will have a negative cost effect on the district budget.”—Benham, 2011, p. 95

Eliminate 5.2 FTE: Projected Savings—$156,000—adapted (Benham, 2011)

Benham’s analysis illustrates the effect. If a district eliminates 5.2 music FTEs, the projected savings would be approximately $156,000. However, by year five the district would need to hire 12.6 cumulative classroom FTEs to accommodate sixty-three additional sections for former instrumental music students.

That cost would total $378,000.

When combined with the original projected savings, the district would face an annual budget miscalculation—what Benham calls the “reverse economic effect”—of $534,000 (Benham, 2011, p. 156).

At a current cost basis of $75,000 per FTE, Benham’s reverse economics model yields a $1.335 million annual budget miscalculation by year five.

And the image shorthand would be:

Projected Savings: $390,000

Actual Cost by Year 5: $1,335,000

In other words:

Music Cuts = Higher Costs

A more accurate framing is:

Music Expansion = Enhanced Economics.

One additional point deserves attention—particularly in large metropolitan districts such as those in Texas.

When cuts occur, middle school assistant band directors are often among the first positions targeted. From a programmatic standpoint, this is one of the most short-sighted decisions a district can make. These positions represent the lifeblood of the entire secondary music pipeline.

The justification for assistant band directors is not simply enrollment numbers. Beginning band requires differentiated instruction across eleven distinct instrument groups—flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and percussion—each with different pedagogical methods and technical demands.

This structure differs significantly from other beginning music environments. For example:

• Beginning string instruction uses highly similar pedagogical approaches across violin, viola, cello, and bass.

• Beginning choir focuses primarily on unified vocal technique and ensemble development.

  
  

By contrast, beginning band is essentially eleven specialized studios operating within a single classroom structure.

Removing middle school assistant directors therefore does not simply reduce staffing—it undermines the instructional model required for success. In practical terms, it cuts the knees out from under the program.

As districts plan budgets and staffing for the coming school year, the lesson remains clear:

The real financial risk is not investing in music programs.

It is failing to do so.

That reality is at the heart of the broader argument explored in my ongoing work:

The Cost of Not Playing.

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Jeremy Earnhart, Ed.D. is the author of The Cost of Not Playing — A widely circulated white paper (2026) examining how music participation shapes the financial health of school districts (45K+ reads).

His doctoral research centered around the competencies of the central office music administrator:

Earnhart, J. L. (2017). Competencies of the public school music administrator: Texas music administrator perspectives. Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership, 1(1), 55–63.

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