Band-room gear bought with capital outlay fund
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Q Why do music stands and sheet music come from the band director’s classroom budget? Those are band students’ “desks.” Do regular classroom teachers pay for desks out of their classroom budgets?
A Each school has a building budget and principals allocate specific amounts to each classroom or department and a portion to the capital outlay fund to buy equipment, according to Nancy Horst, community relations director for the Emporia school district.
At the high school, music stands and classroom desks are paid from the capital outlay fund, not from classroom budgets. Sheet music and workbooks are purchased from classroom budgets.
New band uniforms were purchased last year from the district’s capital outlay funds rather than building funds. Requests for equipment are made by teachers to department chairs and forwarded to the building administration.
“Those requests must be prioritized based on need and planned over time because they typically exceed the capital outlay fund for the building,” Horst said.
Q What do regular classroom teachers get paid per hour for teaching summer school? What do coaches who work with their teams or individuals during the summer get paid by the district? Why is the band director only being paid $12 per hour for band camp, when he is teaching new music, marching, etc., from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.?
A Coaches receive no additional pay for any summer athletic camps they choose to offer, according to Horst. Band camp is treated differently and the teachers receive $12.50 per hour for this work.
Teachers — including the band teacher — are paid their regular rates for teaching summer school classes. The classes are held during the regular school day.
“The district treats band and athletics differently because band is a class offered for credit during the regular school day and sports are extracurricular,” Horst said.
Music, band and orchestra teachers are hired with the expectation that some of their time will be spent outside the regular school day for performances.
“For that reason, music teachers are among those faculty members who receive an additional stipend as part of their compensation package,” Horst said. “Coaching duties are totally separate from the teaching contract and it is against KSHSAA (Kansas State High School Activities Association) rules for coaches to engage in any coaching during teaching time. They are not allowed to work with their teams during the regular school day.”