Sunday, May 5, 2024
Members of the Granbury High School Pirate Band will soon be marching across the field in new uniforms thanks to a unanimous decision made by the GISD board of trustees on Feb. 20.
Mario Morales, the director of bands at GHS, said the current band uniforms were purchased in 2014.
“At our last contest we had on October 28, we had a lot of zippers that busted off, and the buttons on the bottom were just completely gone,” he said during the monthly school board meeting. “Our wonderful band booster parents were holding them together with safety pins, and it was very embarrassing for the kids. We tried to get them repaired but it was just not worth the repair. They've done their job.”
GISD Chief Financial Officer Emmett Whitefield confirmed during the monthly meeting that the district’s current procedure is to replace band uniforms every 10 years, noting that the purchase will be coming out of next year’s budget.
"We knew it was coming; we started talking about it about a year and a half ago, so that's in the planning process,” Whitefield said. “We will encumber it this year, but it won't be expended until next year.”
Morales said the memo outlining the purchase will provide 250 band uniforms for GHS beginning in the fall.
“As of right now we have about 130 kids in band,” Morales said. “We have about 73 that’s coming up at Acton, and we have about 70 eighth graders at GMS. Of course, not all of them will stay in band; we'll lose about 20% of them, but still, that will double our numbers for next year.”
The total proposal for the new uniforms is an estimated $178,113.54 through a company that Morales said he has worked with several times in the past when he was employed with other districts.
"They have a lifetime warranty with any sort of manufacturer defects, and they are constructed at a very high quality, and you know, to have high quality, it's gonna cost money,” he explained. “But I think at the end of the day, it's going to be a great thing for us, and it's going to be modernizing the band program. If we're paying high dollar, it's going to be worth every penny.”
He also said that with these new uniforms, the parents will be able to take them home and wash them, which will save the band boosters an estimated $3,000 a season.
“I think it’s a great investment for sure,” he said.
As for what will happen with the old uniforms, Morales said that it all depends on the district policy. He mentioned other districts auctioned off their old uniforms, while others turned theirs into a pillow to sell for fundraisers.
The new band uniforms will be purchased for GHS sometime after Sept. 1.
