What is all the money used for anyway?
The Band Boosters (all of us parents) are a major sponsor of the Vista High School Regimental Band and Pageantry Corps.  Without support from the Band Boosters, many of the opportunities our students enjoy in the program such as competing in field tournaments, wearing uniforms, and specialized coaching would not be possible.  This year (2010-11) we have a budget of approximately $175,000.  That means that we Band Boosters (i.e. all of us parents) need to raise $175,000 through various means to support the program.  About 2/3 of this money will be raised through general fundraisers such as the Vista Invitational Field Tournament (VIFT) in November, selling concessions at home football games and other events, selling ROI coupon cards, and our Noodles and Notes event in the Spring.  Parent help at these fundraisers is essential!  Without your help we cannot put on these events.  It is also a great way to meet other parents and to be involved in our children’s schooling without hovering over them!

We ask parents to make contributions to the program to cover the other third.  These contributions are often referred to as Band Pledge.  This year contributions are $450 for all band and pageantry students for the marching band season (Fall) and an additional $300 for pageantry students for the Winter Guard season.  While this can seem like a daunting amount, there are a number of fundraising opportunities to help students and their parents pay their personal contributins.  These include buying scrip cards, the Rehearse-a-thon, selling cookie dough and pizza, and selling See’s Candy and Dutch Bulbs.  California State Law prohibits us from calling these fees mandatory because a free education is ensured for all students in our state, including participation in extracurricular activities.  However, without your contributions and support there would be no band and pageantry program since the booster organization pays for staff, instruments, entry fees and many other expenses.  So we ask everyone to pay their contribution.  If you really have no means to pay these contributions, then please know that your student is covered and that we would still very much appreciate your help at the various fundraising events. If you can pay but decide not to, please reconsider sharing in the commitment other parents are making toward support of this worthy program. And we would still very much appreciate your help at the various fundraising and Band Booster events.  If you’re thinking, “Of course I will do everything I can to help out with a very worthwhile educational experience for my child” then we thank you very much for your unwavering support.  And we would still very much appreciate your help at the various fundraising and Band Booster events. With out all of these efforts, the program will not have the financial means to continue.

Besides the donations and fundraisers, there are some additional expenses for clothing that your student will keep such as marching shoes, concert clothing, costumes for guard and a band jacket (no mandatory).  The Vista Unified School District also assesses a Transportation Fee of $100 each year so that our students can ride buses to the tournaments and other events. 

For any questions regarding thisor other associated costs, please contact the Treasurer at: treasurer@vistaband.org.  We thank you all very much for your support of our program!