Thank God for Phil Leonelli

The town of Fallbrook owes a huge thank you to Phil Leonelli. For the sake of the students of Fallbrook High School, he stepped up to the plate and rescued a failing program. I’ve known Phil for years, and he really is a wonderful teacher. He is very gifted in his ability to get students excited about learning. We also need to be thankful that he is a gifted musician who has the ability to direct a high school marching band.

Thanks also need to go to his devoted wife Margaret for loaning her husband’s time to all of us. Thanks also to all of the parent volunteers and alumni volunteers who helped put this program back together. It is truly a shame that a parent volunteer had to bail out the school once again. I should hope that the district is ashamed and embarrassed.

The district is relative unconcerned with any program at Fallbrook High School that doesn’t directly benefit their API scores. They have also almost completely dismantled the choral music program by turning the choral director position into a 3/5 position. The choral music program used to have five choirs and is now down to two.

In a town where the visual and performing arts are cherished, it is terrible that our high school thinks that the music program is so unimportant. It is time for major revisions at FHS. We need to turn Fallbrook High School back into the quality school every day. I was PTSA president of FHS for three years and witnessed the deterioration of the school over the past few years. The entire population of Fallbrook needs to be concerned about the situation at the high school, as our property values are directly related.

Mary Fry