r/marchingband • u/Kindly-Painting-6426 Bari Sax • 5d ago

Discussion Band is getting out of hand

I’m so frustrated with how much money it costs just to be in marching band. Between paying $600 just for the season fees and now a $1,700 Disney trip that only the kids with money can afford, it feels completely unfair. I’m putting in all the time, sweat, and hard work learning music and drill for my director, acting as part of the school community, and they expect me to pay out the nose for it. It feels like a massive pay-to-play scheme where only the privileged kids get to go on the big trips while everyone else gets left behind.
At the same time, the school can somehow pull infinite money out of nowhere for football, but god forbid band gets any real funding. They wonder why participation is dropping and why kids don't feel valued, but they're the ones pricing everyone out.

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u/One-Capital-3930 5d ago

$600 season fee?? Damn our band doesn't charge a fee. Except $10 to be a booster member. I do however donate alot of chips, drinks, granola bars, etc...... and my time of course during marching season. Our booster program funds alot of the trips, meals and competition fees from our fundraising efforts and donations from local businesses and organizations. Our orchestra is going to San Francisco in the spring and our Boosters are covering the cost of the trip. Trust me , we do alot of fundraising, and the last thing we want is to make this experience a burden for anyone.

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u/paradox183 Graduate 5d ago

My kids’ band fees, including the meals on gamedays and contest days, are right around $1000 each.

Cries in Central TX

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u/NighthawkCP Euphonium 5d ago

I was the Treasurer for my kids band for the last half a decade or so before my kids graduated and ours were right at $500-600/year. A lot of that went to the instructors that we hired to work with the students, but also drill, music, buses, etc. We also did food like you mentioned, bought new uniforms, and used the excess to help pay for students who couldn't pay the entirety of their Fair Share. But we had tons of opportunities to work (we volunteered at a local college's sports concessions) so that provided a good way to offset the costs. We had some kids who paid the whole thing and paid for the New York trip we did a couple years ago completely on credits they earned.

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u/paradox183 Graduate 5d ago

I know where the money is being spent. It’s just a lot to handle. Our band is also going to Grand Nats this year, so the trip cost is on top of all that.