People have probably heard numerous times that education in the arts can help academic performance in any number of ways.

“Their analytical skills improve,” said Karen Cramer, a music instructor for the Northshore School District.

She said participating in music and band also helps her students with teamwork and presents abundant leadership opportunities.

“It takes a lot of discipline — mental and physical,” Cramer continued, adding students learn responsibility both toward keeping up a practice routine and in caring for their instrument.

“It take a lot to become accomplished,” she said.

For Northshore elementary students, beginning this year, it also takes more than double the fees it did last year to participate in extracurricular music programs.

For the current school year, the price of music participation jumped from $90 to $225 per student. Cramer said that two years ago, the fee was $35.

Elementary musicians don’t start taking lessons or participating in formal practices until October. So Cramer said officials won’t know until at least early next month just how much the fee increase will affect participation in music programs.

“We feel there may be some backlash,” she said, adding she already had heard from a couple of parents saying they just couldn’t afford the program. Cramer said that obviously the increased fees are even tougher on families with more than one student playing an instrument.

Northshore Director of Communications Leanna Albrecht said the district’s budget problems are well-known. The goal ultimately is, she added, to make elementary music self-sustaining.

“With the difficult budget cuts the district has had to make, we could no longer augment the program,” Albrecht said. “Therefore, we increased the fees and we’re pleased that parents were still interested in participating.”

Albrecht noted the effected program is outside the school day and is different from the regular music class taken by every elementary school student. She also contended that compared to private lessons, the program is fairly economical. Over the course of the school year, the fee amounts to $25 per month.

For parents struggling to cover the fees, the district offers the option to spread out payments over a five-month period beginning in October. Parents would pay $45 per student per month for five months. Albrecht also noted there are scholarships available for eligible students.

Cramer said upper-level students in junior and senior high schools do not pay special fees for participation in music programs. At least in the case of district high schools, she said students do pay a generalized activity fee. But Albrecht noted fees for many extracurriculars, not just the elementary music program, have increased, as well.

Senior-high sports fees went from $70 to $140 per sport. For junior-high athletes, fees increased from $45 to $100.

During budget talks, the district Board of Directors discussed eliminating all junior-high sports, but ended up cutting just a few such as baseball and softball. Officials said students have plenty of opportunities outside of a school setting to participate in those sports. As with the elementary music program, the ultimate goal is to make junior-high sports self-supporting.

Cramer said she other music supporters hope to concentrate on fund-raising efforts at individual schools.

For parents and students in grades four to six, the district plans an Instrument Demo Night at 7 p.m. Sept. 21. Aimed at fourth-graders, strings meetings will be held at Lockwood, Maywood Hills, Canyon Creek, Wellington and Woodmoor elementary schools. For students in the fifth and sixth grades, band and string meetings are planned for Northshore, Kenmore, Canyon Park, Skyview and Leota junior high schools.

Albrecht said any parent with concerns about the program or fees can call program director Ted Christensen at (425) 408-7719.