HS Marching Band fees

[silvertrombone]

I heard of a Texas school charging upwards of $1000 for their trip to BOA Grand Nats this year. Seems ridiculous to me.

I graduated in 92. We were decent, nothing big, and BOA was still in its relative infancy. At least as far as Texas was concerned. Texas State Marching Championships is, quite frankly, a bigger deal in terms of number of quality national bands present. But that's besides my point. Our band trip each spring was about $300. We didn't go out of state at that point, so $1,000 to Indy makes sense. If I went to Indy for the weekend or whatever, it would cost about that. 300 kids plus parents, directors, etc? Sounds right. Pretty reasonable, and a great experience.

I was just wondering how parents could afford to send their kids to band and drum corps according these numbers it's very costly. NO wonder some parents won't let their kids march.

The only thing I remember paying for was my french horn for concert band and we had band boosters raise money for whatever expenses we needed like uniforms etc...the community was always supportive.

Amazing how much you protest threads yet keep contributing to them!

Oh. Thats right. I was clearly trying to assert my superiority. Great diagnosis. Even though I teach high school band and think the world of my students.

I was simply trying to state that there is another forum for the discussion of these things. I don't think one is better than the other.

Sometimes I think there's not a great deal of IQ floating around these boards.

Then go check them out and make sure there aren't any drum corps junkies posting in MB threads. Make sure to let me know if you find any, because that's been on my mind lately.

For me, a $2500 uniform would have to be #$%%^&* incredible. It's unimaginable, really...it'd have to be at least Kilties-level...and I doubt those are anywhere near $2500. (Yes, I've had recent experience buying a uniform...)

In any case, what's the point of a public HS having $2500 unis??

But this thread is very useful info for corps folks....

SMU. Best-Dressed Band in the Southwest! Something like 4 uniforms at each game. Sweet. Not very good.

This one time...at band camp...I started a marching band thread on a drum corps site!....and I got away with it!!!!

Hey, go check out my Phantom Phinances thread and let me know if it belongs in this forum, k? Thanks.

[ItsOnTheField]

I've seen everywhere from $0 to $2000 (per year). Some of this is split between summer/fall and winter depending on the programs the student is involved in. While the higher amounts might seem like a lot to some people...it is all relative to how much the program is involved and also how much the school is able to comtribute to the needs of the program.

[Senagod]

I don't understand how people pay little to no money to march, even in high school.

I'm in a pretty good band here from SC, and we charge around 500 for marching, as I said earlier, and to be honest, I think that's a gift. We go to 7 or so competitions a year, and have a 2 week band camp that feeds us 3 meals a day, and it goes twords our very good instruction (we have 4 directors, and 4 extra staff members). Not to mention, part of the 500 goes twords our concert season... this year we're playing at concert festival, like always, and we've been invited to Charleston to play at the annual SCMEA convention.

The indoor percussion fee is also a gift, as far as I'm concerned... This year we have 7 competitions scheduled, and various clinics... we will also have 2 percussion directors, and another staff member teaching us this year.

I guess I'm just confused... band's not cheap here.

~>conner

Well, keep in mind that it's been 17 years since I was in high school and only had to pay $35 for shoes. My alma mater doesn't compete anymore, so I'm sure it's still only $35. For what you're getting for the money (being fed 3 meals a day during band camp, the staff, doing a concert festival), I can see why $500 is a relative bargain.

The reasons why I have more of a problem with fees for marching band than paying for drum corps are first, my property taxes are going to the high school, so turning around and asking students to pay to play is almost like double-dipping, especially if band is a class that you get a grade for. If bands have to charge a fee because they're not getting any money from the school district, then pressure needs to be put on the district as to why they can't provide funds for the band.

Secondly, to me, high school is where all students should have the opportunity to have as many experiences as possible. Band helped give me a love for music and showed me that there was a big world outside of my dinky small town in north-central PA, and that if I wanted that life, I needed to behave and work for it. I can't see why, when we want students to find anything that keeps them in school and graduate, we throw up roadblocks to the students that sometimes need that experience the most in the way of fees.

I look at drum corps as "OK, you're serious about music and performing, and you want the next level." And that requires money, so as much as I would have loved to march junior corps, I understand the fees and I understood that I wasn't going to be able to have that next level. Them's the breaks.

[MikeD]

The reasons why I have more of a problem with fees for marching band than paying for drum corps are first, my property taxes are going to the high school, so turning around and asking students to pay to play is almost like double-dipping, especially if band is a class that you get a grade for. If bands have to charge a fee because they're not getting any money from the school district, then pressure needs to be put on the district as to why they can't provide funds for the band.

In a lot of district these days, at least here in NJ, MB has become strictly an extra-curricular activity...not part of band class at all.

Our MB is nowhere near BOA level, but we do compete around 7 shows in USSBA each fall. A few hundred $$$ for expenses is reasonable to me, plus the boosters help with kids who can't even afford that.

[BlueR36]

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for contributing. Even those who bashed the thread -- you proved once again that some people will complain about ANYTHING.

It seems that much of the higher fees come from bands that -- go to BOA or some other major competition-related trip and the hotels-n-meals on the trips are ALL paid for from the fees; and go to away-from-home band camps that require housing-n-meals that again are ALL paid for from the fees.

If that is the case, I can see those higher fees -- assuming most of the fees go for those things.

To charge those high fees to pay for show design/arrangement and additional staff, well, I don't agree with that. I know competition is B I G in some places, but those things should be paid for by the schools themselves, in my opinion, not boosters or the students.

In a perfect world, everyone who wanted to do anything would be able to without any worries about money and "fees", but we don't live in that world.

[ItsOnTheField]

I'm not sure why there is this assumption that you have to be at a certain level to attend BOA. Thats kind of closed minded considering anyone can go...regardless of talent level or amount of $ (other then the entry fee and travel to the event). Its about the experience and performance venues and the opportunity to see and perform alongside some really fine programs.

The fees for a lot of programs go to great instructors who offer great education. Thats the focus and use of these fees (or should be).

[nothingbetter]

I'm not sure why there is this assumption that you have to be at a certain level to attend BOA. Thats kind of closed minded considering anyone can go...regardless of talent level or amount of $ (other then the entry fee and travel to the event). Its about the experience and performance venues and the opportunity to see and perform alongside some really fine programs.

The fees for a lot of programs go to great instructors who offer great education. Thats the focus and use of these fees (or should be).

Well..you have to be at a certain level to go and have your band members walk away not...totally humiliated?

but seriously...

does anyone think that the fact that more h.s. bands are competing almost at level with drum corps, and these corps equivalent fees, are contributing greatly to the dwindling numbers?

[Tank]

Should I point out that the kids already pay a fee to do marching band? It's called property taxes/whatever taxes fund YOUR school district.

I know at one point my band (a non-comp that still does 3-4 shows, in addition to football games and 3-4 parades), charged a $5 participation fee, when the music boosters' finances were dire. I don't know if they still do that. I know there is a $5 fee to be a member of the music boosters.

I guess, at the end of the day, ALL extracurriculars are getting into this pay-for-play crap. Kinda ridiculous, in my opinion, but if it saves a couple of important teachers, I suppose it's worth it. Just don't tell that to my district, who last year elected to NOT add a second H.S. band director (for a wind/perc program of 180-200, plus guard) so that the principal could have another secretary.

But I'm done #####ing about my program now.

Edited December 23, 2007 by Tank

[shostahoosier]

I went to high school in Northwest Indiana. My high school competed but wasnt super competitive (our band was about 170 people).

We paid no fees..and our marching band had a budget of $1000 a year...so we did fundraisers (the DCM show we had in my hometown REALLY helped a lot).

If my band had charged even more than $200 dollars...I probably wouldnt have been able to do marching band...my family was/is poor and I scrapped all year just to pay summer tour fees.

I think paying a grand yearly is CRAZY and its a shame that the marching activity as a whole is pricing itself out.