Marching Band Finances 101
As a new band parent it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing to enter the marching band world.Last year we developed Marching Band 101 for new band parents (http://www.chsbb.com/for-new-band-parents.html ) This year—maybe it is time for Marching Band Finances 101.
Like many sports and clubs at Cherokee, Marching Band can be an expensive proposition. Gone are the days when the school districts pay for all those extras that may have been covered when we all attended high school. We are fortunate to live in a district where some of the expenses are still covered by our district, but some of the expenses fall on the band booster organization and the parents.
The expenses associated with a marching band season include (but may not be limited to):
· The rights to perform the music
· The costs for the drill-- the drill is the movements on the field and comes with the associated paperwork and web site that provide each individual student with their individual movements throughout the show
· Musical Instruments
· Uniforms for band and color guard
· Color guard flags and props
· Warm ups for inclement weather shows and pre/post performances
· Dinkles
· Transportation to and from competitions and football games
· Equipment transportation to and from events
· Golf Carts for towing equipment on and off fields
· Trailers for pit instruments
· USBands annual enrollment fees
· Competition entry fees
· Home competition fees ( yes they charge us -$4000 so far-- to host a competition to provide score tabulation, judges, etc)
· Light rentals for night performances on practice fields
· Food
· Band Camp fees
· Lenape Regional School District’s Activity Fee
· School Nurse for overnight trips
· EMT and Police fees for home competition
· Dry-cleaning of uniforms
· Staffing – just like the football team has multiple assistant coaches—so does marching band! (http://www.chsbb.com/our-directors.html )
So—as you can see—we are talking thousands and thousands of dollars ( hundreds of thousands if you include instrument costs).
The school district currently covers staffing fees, the drill and the music rights, and transportation to and from football games and competitions.
The band boosters currently covers expenses related to the home competition, and various items that come up during the school year – for example in the past few seasons we purchased 3 marching mellophones, 2 marching baritones, 1 tuba, and a Concert/Marching Marimba, assisted in the purchase of band room lockers to store instruments, coach buses for the spring trip and national competition, senior graduation gifts and scholarships, props for the shows, color guard flags, the costs for bringing in experts in different fields of music to teach the kids, etc. It all adds up to 10's of thousands of dollars!
That leaves what the parents cover. The first year is the biggest hit. The warm-ups and Dinkles can be used for all 4 years in high school (assuming they don’t outgrow them!). Color guard parents do have the extra cost of costumes each year, but band parents have the extra cost of instruments and instrument upkeep since many of our band members are playing their own personal instruments. Then there are the band camp and spring trip expenses, activity fees, tour shirts ,etc.–it can all add up pretty quickly!
The cheesecake sale, corporate sponsorships, ad book sales and other fundraisers all contribute to the general band boosters account. Look over the info for specific fundraisers for more information on how you can participate.
So, yes, marching band is expensive- but there are ways to reduce your personal costs through fundraising so please take advantage of those programs. Feel free to ask any questions along the way and attend booster meetings so you can see where every dollar goes.
Like many sports and clubs at Cherokee, Marching Band can be an expensive proposition. Gone are the days when the school districts pay for all those extras that may have been covered when we all attended high school. We are fortunate to live in a district where some of the expenses are still covered by our district, but some of the expenses fall on the band booster organization and the parents.
The expenses associated with a marching band season include (but may not be limited to):
· The rights to perform the music
· The costs for the drill-- the drill is the movements on the field and comes with the associated paperwork and web site that provide each individual student with their individual movements throughout the show
· Musical Instruments
· Uniforms for band and color guard
· Color guard flags and props
· Warm ups for inclement weather shows and pre/post performances
· Dinkles
· Transportation to and from competitions and football games
· Equipment transportation to and from events
· Golf Carts for towing equipment on and off fields
· Trailers for pit instruments
· USBands annual enrollment fees
· Competition entry fees
· Home competition fees ( yes they charge us -$4000 so far-- to host a competition to provide score tabulation, judges, etc)
· Light rentals for night performances on practice fields
· Food
· Band Camp fees
· Lenape Regional School District’s Activity Fee
· School Nurse for overnight trips
· EMT and Police fees for home competition
· Dry-cleaning of uniforms
· Staffing – just like the football team has multiple assistant coaches—so does marching band! (http://www.chsbb.com/our-directors.html )
So—as you can see—we are talking thousands and thousands of dollars ( hundreds of thousands if you include instrument costs).
The school district currently covers staffing fees, the drill and the music rights, and transportation to and from football games and competitions.
The band boosters currently covers expenses related to the home competition, and various items that come up during the school year – for example in the past few seasons we purchased 3 marching mellophones, 2 marching baritones, 1 tuba, and a Concert/Marching Marimba, assisted in the purchase of band room lockers to store instruments, coach buses for the spring trip and national competition, senior graduation gifts and scholarships, props for the shows, color guard flags, the costs for bringing in experts in different fields of music to teach the kids, etc. It all adds up to 10's of thousands of dollars!
That leaves what the parents cover. The first year is the biggest hit. The warm-ups and Dinkles can be used for all 4 years in high school (assuming they don’t outgrow them!). Color guard parents do have the extra cost of costumes each year, but band parents have the extra cost of instruments and instrument upkeep since many of our band members are playing their own personal instruments. Then there are the band camp and spring trip expenses, activity fees, tour shirts ,etc.–it can all add up pretty quickly!
The cheesecake sale, corporate sponsorships, ad book sales and other fundraisers all contribute to the general band boosters account. Look over the info for specific fundraisers for more information on how you can participate.
So, yes, marching band is expensive- but there are ways to reduce your personal costs through fundraising so please take advantage of those programs. Feel free to ask any questions along the way and attend booster meetings so you can see where every dollar goes.