DeKalb music program asks Board of Education for $32k increase in budget, more staff

DeKALB – The DeKalb School District 428 music program is asking the school board for an extra $32,000 added to its annual budget of $100,000 and for two additional staff members.

Steve Lundin, DeKalb High School band director and area coordinator of fine arts, gave a presentation to the school board during a meeting this week. He outlined his budgetary requests with a review of the high school marching band’s spending and funding plan.

“There have been a lot of changes in the way programs are run in the last 20-plus years, and we have never done anything to systemically address how we pay for stuff,” Lundin said. “A lot of school districts increase the amount families have to pay, but we’re already asking them to cover a lot of the costs.”

The increase of $32,000 would be used for music arrangement, licensing of music, drill writing for the marching band, visual choreography, sound equipment maintenance, supplemental staff and prop design. Funds also would go toward supplies and transportation, sound design and programming, colorguard flags and equipment, meals, uniform needs, including band shirts and competition fees, according to district documents.

The band requested two additional staff members to join its team of four, which serves 120 students, one of the lowest staff-to-student ratios of any extracurriculars in the DeKalb district, .

“The increase in the budget would allow us to do the same things wealthier communities and districts are able to do without charging families any extra fees,” Lundin said.

Families pay a $100 student course fee for a student to participate in marching band, which averages out to about $12,000 per season. That budget is used for meals, T-shirts, colorguard flags and equipment, props and electronics. During his presentation, Lundin said that some families are asked to pay $200 to $500 in student course fees.

“We’re already on the expensive side of activities to participate in at the high school, and we want to increase access and close the gaps of participation,” Lundin said. “Families also have to pay for other items, such as shoes, gloves and a personalized hat. We’re already asking families to pay so much.”

The DeKalb Music Boosters and fundraisers contribute monetarily to the marching band. By increasing the amount received from the school district budget, Music Boosters and fundraiser money could be used for other purposes, Lundin said.

“That money could be used for scholarships and [to] send kids to summer camps, allowing us more freedoms for other opportunities,” Lundin said.

Lundin said his hope for increasing the music department’s budget is the ability to offer students more opportunities.

“An increase in the budget will increase the number of students able to perform at a high level, a more-modernized band and more opportunities beyond high school,” Lundin said. “We want our program to be every bit as strong as others in Illinois, and we don’t want our students to be behind for scholarship opportunities.”

The DeKalb school board will vote on the increased music budget and staffing at its next meeting March 15.