Tight budgets may make Friday road games less lively
School bands have seen their travel budgets cut, forcing them to choose between road games and competitions.
By ROBERT KING
Published July 30, 2003
SPRING HILL - After broiling for a week in the hot sun, Springstead High School marching band flutist Mandi Principe finally came up with the words to describe the annual rite of summer:
"We're hot. We're dirty. We smell. We're tired. We're sweaty. We're hungry. We're dehydrated and hallucinating - it's band camp, and we love it," Principe said.
In years past, the reward for the sunburn and body odor has been the chance for the band to strut its stuff at halftime during Friday night football games and Saturday afternoon band festivals.
Yet this fall, a leaner travel budget for the county's high schools means that the Springstead band could be facing some tough choices about how often it takes its show on the road.
"We like to go to the away games. We like to do festivals. But we don't have the money to do both," said Springstead High band director Richard Dasher.
Springstead's travel budget has been reduced by more than $6,000 this year - largely because the opening of Nature Coast Technical High School means the county high school transportation budget is being divided among four schools, instead of three.
One benefit is that it will help ease crowding, as Springstead's student body will shrink from 2,000 to around 1,700 this year. But because most school budgets are based on head counts, the loss of those 300 students also means the loss of money. In Springstead's case, that could mean $24,000 in operating revenues, in addition to the $6,000 for transportation.
Central High School, which lost about the same number of students to Nature Coast as Springstead, will see a similar decline in revenue. And it, too, is planning to leave the band at home for road games, said band director Joe Harrin. What's more, Central will likely drop one of its four band festivals and make sure the others are closer to home.
Hernando High, which lost fewer students to the new school, doesn't appear to be affected as much. Band director Tom Damato said he's still planning to take the band to most of the football team's away games and stick to its regular slate of band festivals. The band will bypass two football trips, but only because they are exceptionally long distances.
Meanwhile, school district officials say that a higher-than-expected student enrollment could bring in more money, easing some of the travel constraints. But schools aren't counting on it.
New Springstead principal Susan Duval said there will be fewer academic field trips and nearly all out-of-county staff training trips will be cut. Athletic teams, the chorus and the ROTC will be traveling less, too.
However, it is likely the band's absence at away football games will be noticed the most. Springstead's band is trying to raise private cash to make up the lost travel money. But, for now, the choice comes down to going to the road games or going to band competitions.
For a band that ranked fifth at state competitions last year, that isn't much of a choice.
"I'd do the competitions in a heartbeat," said Dasher.
For all the entertainment and school spirit the band brings to Friday nights, its shows are designed for competition, for wowing judges and for challenging the students to reach heights that only competition can induce.
"We don't want to let the school down, but we don't want to lose the competitions that the school has worked so hard for," said Wahnita Dow, who coordinates the flag, rifle and saber sword teams that constitute the band's color guard.
That doesn't mean the Friday night football road trips won't be missed.
Charles Johnson, a senior drum major, is convinced that as many people come to see the band on Friday nights as they do so see football. He said road trips are among the most enjoyable parts of being in the band. The longer the ride, the more fun, he said. But after three years of hitting the road, it appears that in his senior year the only road game the band will attend for sure is at Hernando High in Brooksville.
"It's a very big disappointment," Johnson said.
This fall, Springstead has five Saturday band festivals and five road football games on the schedule. The band must also travel to the district band festival and - should it qualify as expected - to the state band competition.
Duval said Springstead has kept sending the band to road football games longer than most schools. But faced with a smaller travel budget, road football games for the band are an obvious choice.
"We're not doing this to harm any programs or any teachers," said Duval."This is just the financial situation we're finding ourselves in right now."
School budget growing even as tax rate shrinks
BROOKSVILLE - The School Board gave initial approval Tuesday to a property tax rate that is slightly lower than a year ago and to a $106.7-million tentative budget that is 7.7 percent higher than a year ago.
Both the tax rate and the budget come up for final approval by the board on Sept. 16.
The tax rate is largely dictated by the state. It will drop from 9.561 mills to 9.376 mills. For the owner of a $100,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, the school property tax would be $717.08, a decrease of $24.45 from a year ago.
The tentative budget projects that the district's fund balance - its rainy day fund, so to speak - will increase by a mere $35,000 to $3.36-million by the end of the fiscal year.
The budget still has some unknown variables. The board has not settled its labor contracts with teachers and noninstructional workers. And the board still hasn't received detailed numbers from the state regarding how much money it will receive for capital improvements.
