Band Funding, Fees, Payment Options & MMO Accounts
Why We Fundraise:
Funding from the school district supplies only about 3% of the total $112,000 (2023-24 academic year) budget needed to offer all of the current opportunities that our band program affords our students. The rest, roughly $106,000, is up to parents and students to seek out.
If current band enrollment number continue into the '23-'24 school year, that’s roughly $1300 per student needed in combined band fees and fundraising. So when you have a non-marching band lab fee set at $150.00 – you can see what’s needed to make up the difference in the form of fundraising, corporate sponsorships, and donations. Marching band expenses are the largest budget items and those student fees make up the largest proportion of our income at $850 per student for the 2023-24 school year.
Fundraising allows the band program to:
purchase and maintain instruments (for example: $7000 on one used marimba that we purchased in Spring 2022)
purchase drum heads, sticks, mallets, tympany wheels, etc.
purchase sheet music
provide transportation to competitions, “away-home” games and MPA
hire staff for marching band, rent U-Hauls, build show props
purchase insurance
purchase locks for student lockers
host band camp
hire clinicians to assist in the growth of all bands
participate in the Holiday parade
perform at pep rallies, Veteran’s Day, 3 concerts per year and at graduation
provide a scholarship to graduating senior
hire police officers during our concerts (required by the school administration)
and many more activities
As you can see, whether your student participates in one or multiple ensembles, Band Booster fundraising makes their experience in the band program possible. Is marching band the biggest expense? Yes. But without a marching band, we would likely only have a part time instructor position at our school at best and possibly no band classes in the worst case scenario.
2023-24 Budget, Band Fees, Payment Options & Schedule, and MMO Accounts: