Parents, teachers and students made an emotional appeal to the school board Wednesday and begged for changes in a proposed restructuring plan that would close Langley Middle School and result in layoffs for teachers at all levels.

It was the first school-board meeting since the district’s restructuring plan was announced earlier this month. Some attendees also hammered school officials over their explanation of the plan, or questioned past decisions the board had made in light of declining enrollment that has blown a $1.8 million hole in the district’s budget.

“Communication between you and the community has been overwhelming, confusing and chaotic,” incoming elementary school PTA president Kris McRea told the board.

“No one really knows exactly what is going on,” she said. “There needs to be more discussion on a one-to-one level and fewer surveys and forums. We need to have a dialogue with you.”

Middle school music teacher Jessica Foley rose to highlight the damage that cuts would mean for music education.

“I’m here to protest the decision to cut the jazz-band program,” she said.

Foley tried to continue, but stopped when she began crying. Parent Vicky Hassrick rose to read the rest of Foley’s appeal, which detailed the daily rewards to Foley in teaching music to young people.

When District Superintendent Fred McCarthy told Foley she had been a vital part in creating a world-class band — and that the decision to make cuts had been very hard — Foley responded, “Fred, I’m not concerned about my job but about the program.”

Middle school students Zoe Hensler and Josef Jackson stood before the board to plead for the restoration of the jazz band.

“I won’t be in the band next year, but I learned a lot, like the courage needed to come here and talk about the program in front of all these people,” Jackson said.

The young man got the biggest applause of the night.

Tim Collins hoped that the administration would find a positive method for working with school workers to solve the financial problems.

“Everyone’s going to have to adjust and cut down their individual agendas,” he said. “One program is not necessarily more important than another.”

Some questioned if all would share the pain of drastic belt-tightening.

Molly MacLeod-Roberts wanted to know whether administrative costs had been cut as well as teachers.

McCarthy said there had been specific personnel reductions over the past several years and that the district was being run as lean as possible.

Other speakers offered comments on ways to save money, including drawing down the district’s reserve fund even farther, asking voters for a special levy, applying for federal stimulus dollars, decreasing money spent on consultants and studies, or consolidating all three island districts into one.

Wednesday’s board meeting followed a well-attended meeting the night before where teachers and parents gathered to share ideas about lessening the impact of budget cuts.

The afternoon of the board meeting, a group of South Whidbey High School students demonstrated for a second time against the potential loss of the district’s teachers outside the school- board workshop at the intermediate school.

Later, they provided a letter and 501 signatures collected from classmates.

Administrators, expecting a larger-than-normal crowd, moved the school-board meeting from the commons at the intermediate school to the gym. More than 130 people crowded the wooden stands.

Board members Fred O’Neal, Steven Scoles, Rich Parker, Leigh Anderson and Jill Engstrom took notes as 30 people spoke.

Rich Frishman scolded the board over what he considered the district’s over-dependence on computers and technology. In 2008, a technology levy was passed by South End voters to provide $1.9 million for a two-year period, and the district hopes to extend it next February.

“The technology levy was a misappropriation of educational resources,” he said.

“A computer can be a valuable tool much like a sculptor’s chisel, but in our case, the artists are the teachers. It seems ironic to be buying laptops when we can’t afford teachers,” Frishman said.

O’Neal later said the meeting was productive.

“I thought the meeting was very positive and a lot

of honest concern was expressed,” he said.

“I believe there is a growing realization that this is a very complex topic for all of us.”

The school board will continue to meet through May, June and July to talk about proposed cuts to the budget. A final decision is expected July 22.