Marching to the beat

A white Mustang rolls through Monday rain puddles in the parking lot outside Wando High School, its radio blaring Aerosmith's remake of the Beatles "Come Together."

Inside the school, high school girls giggle as they prepare for marching band practice. It's the few minutes of free time band students will find in the practice season. Even in the wet weather, the 248 students rehearse their drills, marching in the parking lot while pretending to hold up their instruments.

The high school's marching band has secured the top title in its state division for the last four years, and that doesn't come without a lot of hard work. Students practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. On Fridays, they perform during football games, and Saturdays are often spent practicing, preparing for competitions or competing. At the end of the marching band season, the band hopes to place at Grand Nationals, a national marching band competition held in Indiana Nov. 12-14. It's the first time Wando has entered. Michael Gray, a local artist who serves as the band's visual coordinator and has judged the national competition, said he thinks the band has the group it needs to secure one of the 12 finalist positions.

When the band isn't practicing for its competition, students work to raise thousands of dollars, making up most of the band's operating budget for the year.

The Charleston County School District provides just $10,000 of the band's $240,000 operating budget, which goes toward such items as food, travel, marching band equipment, music, instruments and four additional staffers who work with the students.

Jim Braunreuther, Charleston County School District fine arts director, has had $148,000 each of the last seven years that he has divided among the district's 32 band programs for instrument purchases and repair. Last year, he implemented a lease-to-purchase program enabling the district to lease $1 million worth of instruments for $500,000.

"The majority of what it takes to run programs is raised by students and directors themselves," Braunreuther said.

Stall High School's band, for example, has grown from 20 students two years ago to 70 students today, thanks to an energetic band director, he said. Getting the extra instruments for those additional students has fallen on the shoulders of the band director, he said.

At Wando, students will come up with about $196,000 of the operating budget by year's end through selling stadium signs, wrapping gifts, selling fruit through the band's booster club association, and more activities.

"No one is denied participation due to finances," said Scott Rush, Wando High School director of bands.

Some band parents chose to pay their fundraising fair share amount rather than participate in fundraisers, and hardship grants are available. But Rush said he prefers all students to fundraise because that helps them take ownership of the process.

Band parents said raising money for the Wando band has never been a problem.

Residents of band mother Elise Hardee's neighborhood call her during band sales asking if they can buy things, she said. A customer living in Park West, for example, buys about $400 worth of cookie dough during band sales each year. More recently, former Mayor Harry Hallman gave the band a donation of $10,000.

Each year, the town of Mount Pleasant donates a truck and a driver to haul the Wando High School trailer full of instruments and equipment to competitions.

In addition to fundraising, parents are instrumental in keeping the show running. They assist on the sidelines, passing out water, helping to build props and maintain uniforms and costumes.

"I feel very fortunate to be in a community that supports the arts," Rush said.

Reach Jessica Johnson at 937-5921 or jjohnson@postandcourier.com.