For Austin ISD marching bands, budget cuts mean fewer moments under the Friday night lights

Fewer resources could mean fewer Friday night performances from Austin ISD marching bands.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin ISD budget cuts are limiting marching band and drill team travel to football games this school year, leaving McCallum High School students with fewer Friday night performances.

The district recently cut $205 million from its budget as leaders work to address a deficit. In a statement to KVUE, an Austin ISD spokesperson said the fine arts department cannot afford to transport high school band and drill team students to every football game, while also supporting all fine arts teachers and students across the district.

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AISD will fund transportation to five football games this year, down from 10 games McCallum students attended last year.

McCallum’s campus is funding trips to two additional games, according to marching band parent Mandi Richey. That means the band expects to attend seven games, though only five are funded through the district’s transportation allotment.

For sophomore Charlie Bryant, a tenor saxophone player in his second year of marching band, the changes mean fewer chances to participate in the part of band he says students work toward all season.

“This is, kind of, the thing that I’ve been waiting for all summer and for it to be cut that much, it’s like, ‘Did I really have to wait all that just for nothing,’” he said? 

Bryant said the program requires long days of practice in the heat and a significant commitment outside of regular classes. During the school year, he said students practice from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. before school. He estimates marching band and other music preparation can take three to four hours a day, while competition days can run more than 12 hours. 

Still, Bryant said the experience is worth it.

“It’s almost euphoric,” he said. “I mean, I’m out of breath, but I can’t hold my smile back when I’m on the field.”

Bryant said marching band has taught him discipline and given him a place where students support one another. He said it helped him feel included at McCallum, and that he sees the band hall as a positive space to practice or spend time with other students.

But he said the transportation cuts make band members feel less valued.

“It makes us feel like we’re not important to it as much as the other parts of our school that aren’t being cut,” Bryant said.

Richey, whose son Emmett is in the McCallum marching band, said she hoped her children would find activities they loved when they entered AISD. As a former marching band student, she was excited when Emmett became interested in the program.

“They’re committed to the music and the drill, and they work long hours and they sweat, and they’re happy about it,” Richey said.

McCallum’s booster club holds fundraising events to help with costs such as meals, instrument repairs and other band expenses. Richey said the booster organization helps keep McCallum’s student costs relatively affordable.

However, she said she is concerned about other AISD campuses with smaller band programs or less robust booster organizations.

“Every school has transportation costs, every school has meal costs and uniform costs,” Richey said. “How are all of the schools going to be able to afford that if they aren’t given support by the district.”

Bryant said the reduction in games is disappointing, but students plan to keep working to maintain the band’s performances.

“We’re all making the best of what we can because we all love this, so we just put in that extra 1% of work,” Bryant said.