Housing options as schools close

[George Dixon]

2 hours ago, xandandl said:

I thought these numbers were a bit high against what I have been hearing at professional associations' meetings. 

So I searched and found your source which dates from 2001, almost the previous century but still used by subsequent administrations who failed to do a census of such schools. (cf. According to the Digest of Education Statistics, 2001, (Table 89)

 

In 2011, Arne Duncan, then Cabinet Sup. of Education under Obama, projected 27 States would see a decrease for high schools; the remaining 23 increasing were the Carolinas and Rocky Mountain States (from Mexico to Montana) with spot sections of other states such as Texas and California. So it's the hot weather hotbelts for DCI tour who have the schools with the Rust Belt, Grain Belt, and New England shutting down.

I'll do some more digging to have an actual link for present decade of 21st century data. Thanks.

they haven't changed THAT much

this thread is ridiculous... 

[Ghost]

5 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

I saw that happen once at the DCA level. I love the people who move next to a school yet complain about any noise or traffic.

Those are the type of folks who buy a home next to a softball field built for seniors.  Three hundred foot fences (standard) and 20' netting (cities decision) will not keep some of the bombs some guys hit from hitting the house.

[jpaul]

14 hours ago, LabMaster said:

Just curious.  What would constitute an experience bad enough for a school to never participate in hosting a corps again?  Have situations you infer ever get discussed at DCI annuals so  there is an awareness with other touring corps what their responsibility is to be a good guest?  I would think that would be helpful bringing visibility to other DCI member org's. and secondly I think this would be a very manageable situation for corps mgmt. to monitor while touring to avoid a bad experience for the host.  Based on what you have described, the rising difficulty of housing should make good behavior and good manners prominent for touring corps.

It could be literally anything. When you think about it, we’re really a pain in the ###. We show up in the middle of the night, ask for all kinds of stuff, take up a ton of space, we're noisy, we're smelly, and want everything cheap or free. 

A cranky administrator could use any excuse to say no - too much noise, left things dirty, damage to facilities or turf, folks in unauthorized areas, neighbors complaining, etc. 

Some corps go out of their way to care for facilities. Others are notoriously bad. Once a school has bad experience, it can be nearly impossible to rebuild the relationship.

Thanks to all the band directors who advocate for drum corps and wake up in the wee small hours to open the doors for us!

Edited February 15, 2019 by jpaul

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, xandandl said:

What other options for housing might corps consider with schools closing, armories now off limits, and hotels growing more expensive?

I once had a discussion in Minneapolis with Chris Komnick of Madison Scouts who had an investigation ongoing for 10-12 man tents hearkening back to the C. Beebe days and reminiscent of when Scouts camped outside J. Birney Crum when their housing fell through at last minute.  They seemed to be building on the sub-groups that Jim Mason era initiated to make the large (150-154) member contemporary corps more relatable when every third member has the first name of Mike, Jim, etc.

in the event schools would not be usable, i am guessing hotels for sleeping. Not sure about fields.

[M Ryan]

9 hours ago, jpaul said:

It could be literally anything. When you think about it, we’re really a pain in the ###. We show up in the middle of the night, ask for all kinds of stuff, take up a ton of space, we're noisy, we're smelly, and want everything cheap or free. 

A cranky administrator could use any excuse to say no - too much noise, left things dirty, damage to facilities or turf, folks in unauthorized areas, neighbors complaining, etc. 

Some corps go out of their way to care for facilities. Others are notoriously bad. Once a school has bad experience, it can be nearly impossible to rebuild the relationship.

Thanks to all the band directors who advocate for drum corps and wake up in the wee small hours to open the doors for us!

My school never housed a corps before.  When I approached administration about housing I told them i would be on site the entire time the corps was there.  i slept in my office and ate my meals with the corps.  It was great! I had the chance to watch how a world class corps rehearses, had the opportunity to interact with members and staff and see everything that goes on "behind the scene."   I called it Drum Corps Fantasy Camp.  It opened doors for me to become involved when I retired and there were absolutely no problems.  My school has been housing corps for 12 years now.

[OldSnareDrummer]

  I called it Drum Corps Fantasy Camp

Perfect analogy. I hosted at a school one time for Royer's SCV in '79 and it was a lesson in how to run an operation vs the small corps I was working for at the time. 

 

[xandandl]

15 hours ago, George Dixon said:

they haven't changed THAT much

this thread is ridiculous... 

you don't have to be on it.

[xandandl]

I was informed by very good sources that both BD and the Crusaders were investigating these:

.https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2018/02/02/new-bus-service-brings-back-comfortable-overnight-travel/1086707001/

But given that each unit only houses 24 (half the number of passengers as the contemporary coaches corps use) that would double the outlay for gas, drivers, etc. Interesting though.

Edited February 15, 2019 by xandandl

[Stu]

2 hours ago, xandandl said:

I was informed by very good sources that both BD and the Crusaders were investigating these:

.https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2018/02/02/new-bus-service-brings-back-comfortable-overnight-travel/1086707001/

But given that each unit only houses 24 (half the number of passengers as the contemporary coaches corps use) that would double the outlay for gas, drivers, etc. Interesting though.

Those would solve only 1/2 of only 1 problem, sleeping quarters. The members already sleep on the bus; and while travel would be more comfortable it would only solve the other half of the problem: losing the short time on the floor in a gym. And even then the corps would still need parking lot space big enough to accomidate the buses, semis, box trucks, and other vehicles. None of the other multitude of problems of losing a housing/rehearsal site would be solved; none. So to me, the extra cost of leasing those buses would not yield an efficent result.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Stu

[George Dixon]

4 hours ago, xandandl said:

you don't have to be on it.

and you don't have to be rude...

The sleeping part is HALF the battle (well, not even really) - the big issue is turf rehearsal space and sound ordinances

you tend to speak of the activity like this is 1970

corps want high end facilities with 1 turf field in a big stadium, no sound ordinances and several other high end fields - THAT is the issue

along with corps that don't clean up after themselves - and burn bridges etc

the # of schools are many many times the actual number of corps - even with fewer corps, the factor I'm sure is MUCH higher than back in the 70s

well run corps organizations have relationships all over the US and use the same great facilities most seasons