I hope everyone and your families are all doing well and staying healthy.
I wanted to update everyone on the current financial status of the Music Parents Association. The MPA had a strong first half of the year with our fundraisers. The fall Boosters Raffle, Poinsettia Sales, ACT/SAT Practice Tests, Scrip/Gift Cards and Dine Out at Doña Maria all performed at or above expectations. Thank you to the many parents who volunteered and supported all these events to raise much needed funds for our programs.
We are also ahead for the year in donations/grants that we solicit from 3rd party companies.
Our most important fundraiser of the year is the Dinner Show and this year for the first time we held one for 7/8 and a second for 9-12. The two shows allowed us to better highlight all our programs and were a great success! Congratulations to the entire Dinner Show committee for your amazing commitment and hard work. A special thank you to our co-chairs Michelle Lynskey and Julie Pao!
Despite all this wonderful momentum and the support from many of our families, we like many organizations right now are facing a tough time. With the closure of school activities, we are missing not only all the fun events and performances of our students but important fundraisers to our program and overall planned budget. These events include the loss of income from the Band/Orchestra Festival, Club LC, the second semester Boosters Raffle, and the plan for two more SAT/ACT Prep test fundraisers this spring.
Most importantly, we are down significantly in student family contributions to help cover the cost of the program.
Due to this loss of expected income to our annual fiscal budget we are currently projecting a deficit for the year of $15,000-$20,000. While we have the reserves to cover this loss it will have a significant negative impact on the financial health of our organization.
It still seems surreal to me that our school year is ending in a way none of us could have imagined just six weeks ago. Last week our students and teachers were to have been in NYC on an amazing and educational trip. This week our Winter Drumline would have been competing at WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.
This is a difficult time for all of us. I know many people are out of work (my husband and I included). However, as I write this I think of the important things in my life. I am grateful that my extended family and friends are all safe and healthy, and I hope yours are too. I am grateful that our school district has done a herculean job in getting our students through this with distance learning and an ability for our kids to finish their school year. I am grateful for our teachers who are quickly adapting and working hard through this crisis to deliver educational learning and keep our students engaged. I am grateful to all our amazing students. Over the past four years I have been to all the concerts, competitions, events, parades. I have been in and out of the band room too many times to count. I have always been so impressed with the positive attitude, leadership, and camaraderie of our students. I have watched my own children who have learned so much, matured and benefited greatly by being a part of the Instrumental Music program. I am so grateful to have been a part of this program, it has brought great joy to my life and I hope it will continue to do the same for all of you.
I know we are not yet finished with our school year. The MPA will have a board meeting to finish this school year on June 1st. However, I wanted to take the time now to alert everyone to our current status. More importantly, I want to thank all the parents who have sacrificed so much of their time and money to help our program succeed. Thank you for your amazing hard work and commitment to our students. The Instrumental Music Program cannot survive without the support of the MPA and the MPA cannot survive without the support of the parents. The time and effort you all put in to support our students is deeply appreciated and the reward is the smiles on the faces of our kids at every performance, competition, and event.
Finally, I want to thank Jason Stone, Jennifer Munday, Jimmie Myers, and Sandy Miller. While the Instrumental Program needs the MPA our students need these instructors. They are incomparable in their expertise, teaching and commitment to our kids. They work tirelessly and engage and connect with our students in ways that ensure our kids stay involved in school even through difficult times such as we have now. I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with all four of them and feel blessed that my children have had the opportunity to work and learn from them.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Stay safe and I hope to see you all someday soon!
Elizabeth Bohannon
LCHS MPA President