The arts (musical theater, acting, music, choir, drawing, etc) are often undervalued in the public school system compared to academics. This leaves many students with the desire to perform, unsatisfied and under-appreciated. We see no reason as to why it should only be accessible to those who go to a fine arts school. Musical theater is something people of all ages enjoy. It is shown to have inspired many kids who have an interest in acting and singing to get on stage and do what they truly love. Performers love to discover themselves and their characters and the audiences love to the outcome of that. The district musical is the creative outlet for teens and middle-school students from different and diverse backgrounds to come together and produce something beautiful. To give us one year together and take it away feels like a waste and a shame. Last year, the Board held auditions for their very first district wide musical, doing Les Miserables. It has gotten great reviews and caught the eye of Broadway producers such as the producer of Kinky Boots. We have sold approximately 1,000 tickets for each of the five shows performed. It was a life changing experience for everyone involved, and has even influenced many to pursue a career in drama and theater. We, as students, were told that there were going to be annual performances so we cleared our schedules and relied on the performing arts department to announce the musical. However, this year the board has made an executive decision not to fund for a show. So far, we have not heard a reasonable excuse as to why there won't be any performance this year and many of the students that were and want to be in the show wanted the privilege of saying they took part of such an amazing experience. We only ask of you to help us as students of the Jersey Public Schools and our passion for the arts because no student should be stopped from doing what they love.