Samo bands compensate for shortfalls in funding
In recent years, Samo’s band department has been struggling to finance their various programs like marching band, color guard, the three jazz bands and three concert bands within their department. The issues with funding have reignited past controversy around two main points of contention — the band’s “rainy day” fund and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s (SMMUSD) equity fund.According to Samo Band director Michael Corrigan, the band is facing financial shortfalls in funding everything from the salary of additional staff members to travel costs as well as covering the costs of winter colorguard, which used to be funded by the district.“We have what is usually about fifty thousand dollars worth of coaches, staff, show design for the marching band, and so on,” Corrigan said. “We have been steadily using up our reserves. We have [just over] twenty seven thousand dollars in the band checking account. I don’t want to go into the year with less money [than we need] because then I’m faced with the dilemma of what to do in January when we run out of money.”The funding crisis has led to rumors of the disbandment of the long standing Viking Marching Band, founded in 1915. However, according to Corrigan, the marching band program will not be ended to cut costs.“First of all, realize that marching band was never cut,” Corrigan said. “[We were looking at] options of how we are going to make it through the next year financially based on the income we’re projecting. There were several other options besides cutting the marching band. I think a lot of people were panicking and [saying] that marching band is going to die, but there’ll be more than marching band [cut] if we go broke. So, let’s not try to figure out which facet of our program is going to die.”According to an email sent out by band parent Alisa Facchini on May 22 on behalf of Santa Monica Arts Parents Association (SMAPA)-Samohi Bands, the band program is currently asking for emergency donations and plans to ask for an exemption from contributing to the SMMUSD equity fund, which collects 15 percent of all donations given to individual schools and programs and redistributes it to schools in need.“At the June 7 Board of Education meeting, SMAPA-Samohi Bands will request that the bands at least be granted an exemption from paying equity fund contributions, so that we can fund the colorguard class that is no longer funded by the district,” Facchini said. “If we could keep that money, we’d need to raise just $14,000 to start the 2012 marching season. Either way, if we’re going to pay for the 2012 marching season, to begin we will need the community’s help. Any and all donations, no matter how small, are greatly appreciated.”Some people, like band parent Michael Chwe, believe that the band needs to address issues such as the band’s past refusal to contribute to the equity fund and the concealment of the so-called “rainy day” fund.“For the Samo band program to now ask for an exemption from equity fund payments is disingenuous given its past refusals,” Chwe said.Before its replacement in 2009 by SMAPA, the Santa Monica Band Parents’ Association (SMBPA), a non-profit organization of parents, contributed a major amount of funding to Samo’s band program through donations. However, in 2004, the institution of the district-wide equity fund led to controversy within the SMBPA.According to Chwe, the Samo band program had refused to contribute to the fund in the past.“The Samo band program — just the band program, not the other music programs — had consistently refused, from as early as 2005, to contribute to the district’s equity fund, earning them the attention of district officials,” Chwe said.According to Corrigan, the refusal to contribute to the equity fund was caused by the belief within the SMBPA that all funds raised by the parents’ association should go directly to Samo’s band department.“Before 2009, sometime before I got here, there was contention from the parents’ association [about the equity fund] saying ‘but we’re raising all this money to help the kids and now that’s going to deplete our funds,’” Corrigan said. “[As a result], there were a couple years in which the band withheld payment of the equity fund because they were still arguing about it.”Now, according to Corrigan, the band has paid its outstanding balance of forty-eight thousand dollars of “back equity fund” and currently makes biannual payments in January and August of 15 percent to the equity fund.However, according to Chwe, the band concealed a so-called “rainy day fund” before 2009.“Several people have asked me about the Santa Monica Band Parents’ Association’s ‘rainy day fund,’ a fund of roughly $330,000 which came from parent contributions to the Samo band, orchestra, choir and other district music programs over the years and was invested in the stock market,” Chwe said. “The ‘rainy day fund’ was dispersed and closed in 2009 when the SMBPA was replaced by SMAPA. Most parents did not know about it and it was not included in the Samo band’s 2008-2009 budget (the ‘rainy day fund’ was cashed out in the summer of 2009).”According to Corrigan, confusion about the “rainy day fund” was what, in part, led to the replacement of the SMBPA with SMAPA, a single umbrella association, that includes the band, orchestra, choir and theater programs.“The Santa Monica Band Parents’ Association was an all-inclusive arts association — the middle school was in it, the band and orchestra was in it, and the choir was in it,” Corrigan said. “The ‘rainy day fund’ is very hard to explain because it was under the name of the SMBPA but it belonged to a lot of people besides band. If [the organization] had any investment in raising the money, they received a portion of the funds. What they tried to do is, in a very ugly manner, try to figure out what each group deserved and they changed the name of [the organization] so that it doesn’t sound like [the money] is all band money. So with the name change, the money was divvied up amongst all the groups that participated in the middle schools and the high schools.”Chwe believes that the band directors should acknowledge the alleged discrepancies before requesting support from parents.“I don’t know the best way for the band program to continue,” Chwe said. “Parents want to support their kids and their kids’ school activities, but this willingness cannot make up for basic financial planning. I would simply urge the band directors to embrace financial responsibility and discuss the problem openly and honestly. You can’t ask people to donate and help solve the problem of the band’s financial situation without explaining how the band got into the problem in the first place. If the marching band program is on the brink of non-existence, one would think that the band directors would at least try to explain how it got there and what the plan is for saving the band.”Despite the many controversies, Corrigan says the band is open about funding now.“What I’m trying to do is from 2009 on, the books are open every month at the parent meeting, and anyone that wants to know is more than welcome to come in,” Corrigan said. “[If] people are concerned maybe that it wasn’t dealt with in a fiscally responsible manner, come in and look at the books.”According to Corrigan, everyone involved wants to help the band program survive. The band department hopes to raise money through fundraisers while cutting costs to prevent further spending of savings and create revenue to support the programs.“Right now, the opinion of the board is we will increase our fundraising efforts to create better income to support the entire band program and try to make the community aware that funds are needed,” Corrigan said.Alison GuhArt Director