Marble Falls ISD reorganizes band program, seeks director
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — School officials launched a search May 19 for a new Marble Falls High School band director after the current band director received notice he would be reassigned to the middle school.
Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Rob O’Connor offered a timeline for filling the position held by Marble Falls High School Band Director Brad Behrens, who has been with the school district for 17 years.
“We are moving forward. The (high school) head band director job will be posted today. It will remain posted for two or three weeks,” O’Connor said in statement May 19. “Then, a committee will be formed to interview potential candidates and ultimately bring a recommendation to the school board in July.”
According to MFHS Band Booster Club vice president Sara Reily, Behrens was offered an assignment with the band program at Marble Falls Middle School for the upcoming school year.
On May 18, she spoke out against the move in front of board members during citizen comments at a regular school board meeting in which dozens of students, parents and band alumni attended.
“I think (replacing the band director) would be something for the new superintendent (to determine),” Reily told DailyTrib.com. “The outgoing superintendent will not be around to deal with any of the consequences of what happened from this.”
O’Connor has accepted a job at Sharyland ISD in South Texas and is expected to start his first official day July 6.
“I do understand that people do want to see changes, but I think that can happen without removing an excellent teacher — one that has especially been very loyal to this school,” Reily said. “As far as his actual teaching abilities and the skills he teaches these kids, they are excellent.
Reily has one child who completed the band program and another who is currently in the program.
“I feel like he’s very open to ideas and if was given a bigger budget, he could do much more with the program,” she said of Behrens.
She attributes the band’s success and steady growth, in part, to Behrens’ guidance.
In 2011, the marching band enrolled 74 students, according to Reily’s figures.
In the fall of 2014, the band enrolled 100 to march in contest and football halftime shows.
For the upcoming 2015 season, the marching band has 110 students enrolled in the program, she said.
“We get ‘superiors’. We get ‘1s’ in our concert performances. We’ve gone to area the last two times that we’ve been able to advance on,” she said. “We are the smallest school in the 5A district, and so our band is 10 percent of our student high school population, which is standard for any high school band.”
O’Connor declined further comment on the reason for the personnel change.
Behrens was unavailable for comment.
connie@thepicayune.com
3 thoughts on “Marble Falls ISD reorganizes band program, seeks director”
Comments are closed.
I’ve been a student of the band at marble falls for 5 years. And in all that time I’ve never met a better teacher than Mr. Behrens(Mr. B). He has taught me so much about music and how it can help in life. He has taught me discipline and patience and how to be a better person. As for the accusations about inefficiency, these could not be farther from the truth. The band is not getting smaller when in fact we are growing every year. And there is no one better suited for the job of head band director than Mr. Behrens. On approximately may 8, two days after Mr. Langford announced his retirement, Superintendent Mr. O’Conner pulled Mr. B out of class and notified him of his reassignment. Even when he was notified, Mr. B held it together for the students through the last day of the school year. This shows how professional and caring he is towards the students and high school alumni who were also in band. I really hope this letter makes a difference because band would never be the same without our head band director.
After we (Marble Falls Mustang Band) had around 70 people in attendance for the school board meeting last night, they end up siding with O’Connor? This is totally ridiculous! Apparently they changed around the order of the agenda too, making the citizen comments later on in the meeting, after the board went to closed executive meeting. The executive part is normally at the end of the agenda. I think they were trying to run us out. Even though it was VERY hot in the room, we all stayed.
I want to see proof as to WHY this change is occurring. we brought proof that our numbers have been increasing and not decreasing as O’Connor had stated. I have spoke with many people in the community about the band, and I have been told nothing on the negative side. We need to have justice here. Mr Behrens had not been notified of any wrongdoing, was not on a growth plan and had never been written up. This is truly unethical and unfair. you don’t just come into a band program that has been running smoothly, growing, receiving superior rating and pull the head director out. Of course, O’Connor is on his way out, and won’t be here to clean up the mess that he has started. Somebody needs to right this wrong. You don’t wreck a person’s life like this, let alone a program full of kids that see this man as a father figure. Band is a second home to these kids.
Marble Falls School Board, stand up for this teacher of 17 years, 8 of which he has been Head Band Director. Do what’s right!
This is a completely unfair action on the part of the superintendent and the school board. They should be ashamed of the way they’re treating a loyal educator.