By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – The Ashwaubenon school board voted 3-1 Wednesday, Feb. 12, to authorize high school band and choir students to travel to Hawaii for a week at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
Board Treasurer Michelle Garrigan expressed concerns about a music trip possibly not being affordable, with the estimated $2,500 cost per student.
She cast the lone dissenting vote.
The board heard from Marc Jimos, AHS band director, about the music students traveling every two years with the next trip to Hawaii tentatively planned for June 10-17, 2021.
Jimos said the music students last traveled to Hawaii in 2017, when it was the choir’s first time and the band’s third tour there in the past 15 years.
“I think it’s a good performance opportunity for the kids,” he said. “There’s an international parade… We participate with bands from the United States, but also with Pacific Rim countries.”
In addition to the performances, Jimos said the trip highlights include a variety of tours while the students are in Hawaii.
High school band and choir members last March went to New York City, where the band performed in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the choir members had the opportunity to perform patriotic songs by the flagpole on Liberty Island.
Jimos said approximately 70 percent of the music students went to New York in 2019, while approximately 65-70 percent of the music students traveled to Hawaii the last time.
The cost of last year’s trip to New York was about $900 less than what it would cost each student to travel next year to Hawaii.
A couple of parents on hand for the meeting also expressed concerns about the price.
Jimos said the decision to go to Hawaii is based on past participation and the feedback of students and parents, while a less expensive trip is offered once every four years.
He said students have the opportunity to raise funds for their trips over the course of a two-year period with a variety of activities, such as the fruit sale in which as many as 70-80 percent of the music students participate.
With the music trips being completely self-funded, Jimos said the students aren’t required to travel on them.
“We try to offer a pretty wide palette of opportunities for kids to do a number of different things,” he said. “That being said, we don’t really have an expectation that everybody’s going to go on everything…”
Jimos said this year music students are going to see the Chicago Symphony in Chicago with that trip costing each student around $100.