I've changed my opinion about school sports.

[xmas74]

21. I will say this about band

as a proud Band Mom and former band geek-it's expensive. Really expensive. It's cost prohibitive to many students. I know I've put out about $1600 so far this year for high school marching, partial concert season and the very beginning of jazz festival season. That's more money than most would ever put out on sports or other activities and our school expects us to pay for those also. (The fees for band do not include the actual instrument rental or purchase and also do not include the band trip for overnight competitions or the big week long trip this spring.)

Football is expensive but fans actually buy tickets to watch them pay every Friday night, so it does make money. Cross Country is even cheaper to field-a physical, a pair of shoes and maybe a uniform rental, paid every year, along with coaching salary and bus fees. I love band but it's just not feasible for many to join. I struggle with the fees all the time. Golf and swimming proved to be much cheaper.