Public commenter urges funding for Kennedy marching band trip; superintendent says district has met with band director
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Summary
A Waterbury resident asked the board to fund a Kennedy High School band trip to Honolulu; the superintendent said the district had met the band director, estimated a lower cost than the public figure cited and committed preliminary support while students fundraise.
A member of the public asked the Board to identify funding to send the Kennedy High School marching band to a performance in Honolulu this spring. Paul Condash told the board the band was selected to represent the city and that the trip would cost “about $250,000,” adding he found it wrong the students were expected to rely on bake sales and GoFundMe donations.
"It's about $250,000 to get that band out to Honolulu," Paul Condash said, noting the band had roughly $3,661 in a GoFund account and was facing a short time horizon.
Superintendent Dr. Schwartz said district officials met with the band director and other staff and that further discussions produced a lower cost estimate. “The number I was going off of...shrunk down to approximately $90,000 for the band to go,” Schwartz said, adding the district had committed more than $10,000 to help cover chaperone costs and uniforms and that staff were working with the band director on fundraising and payment plans.
Board members and staff described pragmatic constraints: large, out‑of‑country trips require student commitment, multiyear fundraising and often a degree of parental contribution; the district noted limits to covering large travel expenses in an underfunded budget. Schwartz said district staff prioritized minimizing costs wherever possible (for example, arranging instrument rentals locally) and reiterated a 1:10 chaperone ratio and requirements that school‑employed chaperones be covered by the district.
No formal board appropriation for the trip was made at the workshop; the superintendent and band director said they would continue fundraising and district staff would maintain limited financial support to reduce the per‑student cost.