Chesapeake, VA band can play at Disney, but not on the rides

wahoo skipper said:
The issue is one of the assinine rationale the "leaders" of this community are making this decision.

Actually, I think the issue is that no one fought this rule back in 2006 when it was being considered and then decided upon. Why did everyone wait until this rule was actually being enforced to decide to take action? It's as if everyone looked at each other when the denial was rendered and said, "what, you guys were serious about that rule?"

Now the Board is in a sticky spot. If they reverse this rule based on the pressure the parents and students are applying not only does it lessen their credibility as a governing board, but they are teaching the students within the district that if they scream loud enough when they have been told no, they may eventually get their way.

I think the Board is responding in about the best way they can in the short term. They have created a committee to review the issue and will revisit the decision down the road.

Perhaps in the future, the community will pay closer attention to the proposals and decisions the Board is making so they can respond and participate when their voice can be the most effective.

Sometimes these rules get made behind closed doors though. Not all school board meetings are public.

Unless they're talking about HR issues or contract negotiation, they sure as hell are public. They have to be by law.

depotrat said:
^^Sorry Gonch that type of reasoning doesn't fly.

I'm not sure I came to a conclusion. I just laid the facts out there.

I'm not saying they're over-priviledged. I'm just giving a rundown of what the community is like.

But like Andy said - even if they are, does it matter?

Assuming those board members are in elected positions then I think it would be in their best interest to correct this ridiculous mistake or they will be watching the meetings on tv like the rest of the community.

For once I would like to see a public figure, entity, organization say, "oops...our bad. THAT was a dumb idea."

No one can take accountability anymore or admit when mistakes are made.

I screw up all the time and my wife isn't afraid to admit that.

Brian Noble said:
Honestly, who cares if a bunch of over-privileged kids get to take a band trip to Disney World or not?

This quote obviously came from someone who doesnt live in that area of chesapeake nor has any knowledge of the economic structure of our south side.. I, living in the Hampton Roads area that also encompases Chesapake, would NOT consider these kids or the school district, over-privileged.

Either that or you were just trying to get a rise.. In that case mission accomplished...

^ Besides, all the "over-privileged" kids in that area are already going to private schools and will be nowhere near Orlando on their Christmas/holiday/winter breaks. :)

You guys want to talk about over-privilaged, you should be in NH. One of the richest private schools in the country, St. Paul's, is right in Concord, NH. You can't get your kid in the door with without a income of high six-figures.

^ I hear they credit check you when you land at the airport, even for a visit.

Lord Gonchar said:

depotrat said:
^^Sorry Gonch that type of reasoning doesn't fly.

I'm not sure I came to a conclusion. I just laid the facts out there.

I'm not saying they're over-priviledged. I'm just giving a rundown of what the community is like.

But like Andy said - even if they are, does it matter?

Didn't think you came to a conclusion, just pointing out that your data didn't help any to determine if specific students (the band) are over- privledged.

I'll admit I was cranky when I wrote that. But, I did look at median salary info for that county before I posted (which is high), and I still say: boo freaking hoo. In the long laundry list of injustices in the world, a high school band not going to Walt Disney World is pretty low priority for me. What's more, in the long laundry list of asinine decisions a typical school district makes, this too is way way way not even close to the most egregious.

I know we're supposed to be all solidly behind the amusement industry in even a minor controversy, but I just can't get even remotely worked up over this, and I'm surprised at how much time you are spending on it.

"...and I'm surprised at how much time you are spending on it."

Yet you are still posting in the thread. I'm not jumping to the defense of amusement parks. I'm jumping to the defense of kids who are seeing "fun" sucked out of their lives on a regular basis.

I could care less if they were wealthy or poor. They are kids.

Let me attempt to translate for those of you who don't speak "professor:"

"It it a kid's birthright to go to Disney?"

kids who are seeing "fun" sucked out of their lives on a regular basis.

That's the point of being a kid---how else could you become an adult? ;)

At least I didn't spend enough time on the subject to research census and income figures. :)

So what happens to the funds that were raised? They're not the school's or the district's, correct? Did the band request (and get) permission from the school board to raise funds? I would think they would need to since they're using the school's name. At that time, the band and administration should have discussed the terms of the policy, and let the band decide then and there what they wanted to do. Not after they raised thousands of dollars.

RatherGoodBear said:
At least I didn't spend enough time on the subject to research census and income figures. :)

Trust me, it takes longer to post two or three times here than it does to find that info.

It totally took all of thirty seconds to find that information...

In my time in High School band from Podunk, Kentucky we went to Europe (Paris, Lucerne, Vienna, Berlin), Hawaii, and Boston/New York and I just looked it up, our median household income was about $35k. I guess after playing in those sorts of places, Orlando just seemed a bit mundane.

What does this have to do with anything? Not much. :)

I don't get the huff about "over privileged." The way I read it, he wasn't referring to the parents' incomes, but rather that the kids get to go to Disney in the first place.

If you consider that most bands play only at their school, and that some get to go to things like county fairs or Kennywood's Fall Fantasy, then it would seem reasonable to think that those that get to march in the Rose Bowl or Macy's parades, or at Disney are indeed over-privileged compared to the standard band member. Whether they work for it or not, most people do not get this chance. The privilege has nothing to do with money.

I don't really know about that. Maybe it's just a geographic thing, but I know most bands at least in Kentucky were pretty well traveled in general, and going to something like WDW wouldn't really be all that remarkable, really just the opposite. And band in Kentucky isn't half of what it is in places in the Midwest and Texas. Maybe I just grew up in a little bubble where a band going to Florida was about as unusual as, well....something really not unusual.