To the parents and students of The Colony Band:

Date:  November 10, 2009

Over the past 8 months I have visited with the Band Booster Board Members and the other Band Directors at TCHS concerning the topic of a band trip for the 2009-10 school year.  For reasons outlined below, the Band Directors and Band Booster Board Members are in agreement that we should not take a Band Trip this school year.  While I am sure that this may disappoint some of you, I assure you that this decision was not made hastily nor was it made without considering the financial impact on the Band and all of our Band families.  We will be participating in a few local trips that will be optional for students.  Some of those trips will be discussed later in this letter.

During our discussions, many of the parents indicated that when they were in high school, their band only traveled every other year (or in some cases every 3-4 years). Over the past several years our Band has done quite a bit of traveling:  Indianapolis, Indiana (Music for All/Bands of America National Concert Band Festival), San Antonio (several trips), Crested Butte, Colorado (snow skiing and fried chicken at Slogar's), Houston, and Washington, D.C.  Traveling with a large group can be expensive, particularly when traveling great distances.  Travel costs have not gone down recently -- in fact, bus rentals have actually increased significantly over the past 2 years. 

I firmly believe that I have an obligation to keep the financial situation of the Band families in mind when I am considering trips for our group.  We currently have $8,612 in outstanding fees due to the Band.   Many of us are struggling to pay monthly bills.  In light of the current economic situation and the high amount of Band fees still owed. It does not make financial sense to attempt a large trip for the Band this year.  It is important that we are financially stable before undertaking a trip.  In my professional experience, adding the cost of a trip to our fees will only guarantee that we do not balance our books by the end of the school year.  I do not make this decision lightly.  I assure you my children are disappointed as well.  This will be the first year of my teaching career that the Band is not undertaking a trip. 

What I have proposed has been the idea that we begin planning for a major trip for next school year.  Some of these suggestions are:

*     A performance at a nationally televised Thanksgiving or New Year's Day parade

*     A performance at a nationally televised college football bowl game in another state,

*     Or a trip during Spring Break to either the west coast, northeastern U.S., or a trip to Florida. 

*     The first trip The Colony Band took in 1987 was to Walt Disney World in Orlando.  Since next year is the 25th anniversary of the school -- a trip to Walt Disney World would be a great way to celebrate this milestone for TCHS and the Band. 

By planning 12-18 months in advance, we can make good decisions to ensure all of the financial aspects of the trip are properly addressed so as many people as possible can attend.  Some of our recent trips have had as few as 50% of the band attending.

We are currently looking at several local trips we can undertake this school year so that the students can enjoy themselves socially with the Band while at the same time maintaining reasonable costs.  Remember that the rest of the state travels to Dallas-Fort Worth for some of their Band Trips -- there is plenty to see and experience in our backyards that many of the students have never seen before.  Some of the outings include:

*     A trip to the Dallas Symphony for a rehearsal

o     (TCHS Orchestra does this every year and the students always enjoy it -- maybe because they do it during school!),

*     Performance and attendance at a festival at Six Flags,

*     Attendance at a musical production

o     (such as Dallas Summer Musicals -- they perform shows all year),

*     An evening at Medieval Times. 

In addition, we are exploring a Senior Trip that would be just for all Senior Band Members to attend.  We will visit with the Seniors to gauge their interest.  Attendance at these events would be at the discretion of each family. 

I understand that some will be disappointed without a trip for this year.  I can assure you I have visited with many families who are financially struggling and would not be able to participate in a trip.  I truly believe this decision to be in the best interest of everyone involved with The Colony Band program.

Sincerely,

Lance Flisowski

Director of Bands

The Colony High School