Is this for friggin real?!

[granfire]

A general rant.
I give you a cookie if you read til the end...

Aight;
Kid is in band. Marching first year.

Sooooo
the fun begins.

FYI: a score (and parts) for a band costs at bare minimum 100 bucks.
There are a few instruments the school provides: A Sousaphone costs 6 grand....

Now, the band has to pay for transportation for away games. 1k

BUT: they have to raise their dough the hard way. They do get a concession stand, but it's on the visitor side....

A local church (God bless them) had offered the use of their bus for the band, at no charge....Football coach complained...the band can't ride in an air conditioned buss when the ball players ride on a school bus...(Personally I would have flipped him a bird...but I am new to this game of politics)

Did I mention that you need the jaws of life to pry the wallets of my neighbors open?

Oh...
Football is an extra curricular activity, same as cheer leading...you can get kicked off the team for not pulling your weight...Band is a class, so you can't kick dead beats out!

If I was not already gray, I would surely sprout some now...I might rop my hair out before it's all said and done!


End of rant.
back to my Miller Highlife
(no. it's not good, but after 6 hours in the heat, it was the best beer I ever had)

 

[Big Don]

Two years ago, the school district sent home a letter stating that they did not have the money for the eighth grade graduation ceremony. (yes, 8th, dumb, but a HUGE deal here) I live 5 blocks, in a small town, from the stadium, were EVERY Friday night there were fireworks during Football games. Gee, maybe that money could be better spent...

Gran, you need better taste in beer...

 

[granfire]

T

Gran, you need better taste in beer...

I have better taste...but 3000 miles for a beer run is a bit too long...

No, seriously! After spending 7 hours in front of Walmart today...that first Highlife was GOOD! ^_^

I feel like in a remake of 'Revenge of the Nerds' : the jocks don't want the Geeks to ride in a nice bus....but they got the good income source...

 

[WC_lun]

Football is a sport for jocks and popular kids. Band is for band geeks. Therefore all money should go to the benefit of the popular jocks. Now I don't agree with the above, especially since I was one o those band geeks. However, this seems to be the thinking of too many schools. Treating kids and thier interest equally doesn't occur to many of them.

 

[jks9199]

A lot of the "extra" money that goes to football or basketball in many school systems comes from booster programs, dedicated to those sports. (Like, probably, the fireworks.)

I'm not saying that bands, and drama programs, don't raise a lot of money through fundraisers, as well. And it's much easier, really, to justify funding a program that's part of the educational curriculum than an extracurricular -- and, in the same vein, harder to justify taking fund-raiser money and turning it over to the curriculum.

Is marching band a class? When I was in HS, there were multiple band classes -- but I don't think the marching band was one of them.

And I think the buses had to paid anyway, for each team. It just was part of the athletics budget, whether from booster money or school money.

 

[granfire]

well, band is a class. The band is relatively small compared to others in the area, but award winning good (they constantly get invites to big events but can't accept because they have no money)

What absolutely flabberghasted me was the pricetag: 1k for a trip to an away game...to be paid by the boosters.

There is the discrepancy:
Football and cheering is extra curricular. You can get kicked of the team.
Band is a class...you can't be dismissed from it. And the parents act accordingly. 'I am not paying the camp fee and you can't make me'
That's what my mother-in-law heard a parent tell the director! Not much to say about that!

Football and cheerleading get the proceeds from the home side concession stand.
band gets the money from the Visitor side.

I mean, if I have to pay for the trip, I pick the ride I can afford.
And when i get offered a free ride, I take it. With out most grace and gratitude!

Football coach said not to....

Not sure, but I am it seems an ornery person. Telling me I can't is not sitting well with me!

I know I said I was never gonna blog, but I might just have to!

I have the kitty to take over the keyboard, too ^_^

(GO WILDCATS!!!)