Football season has begun and to make room for fans and students, the band and drill team have been moved to smaller stands next to the permanent stands so the school can sell more general admission tickets.

The band and drill team are school programs and should not be moved.

The band and drill team have been moved to separate stands on the track. While the stands they will be using for the first two home games are only temporary and “permanent” stands will be installed, they are not permanent. The “permanent” stands are said to be angled on the track so the band can still be heard, but because they are on the track they will have to be moved once track season starts, making them anything but permanent. 

The new stands are separate and take people away from the action. The band is so far away from the student section that students attending games cannot hear them. With the band unheard by students, it takes the essence of high school football away from the game. The students not being able to hear the band also causes confusion, as when the fight song and Alma Mater are being played at the end of a winning game, the student section does not know what is going on.

Although the district is growing, requiring more seats for the new students and parents that attend games, school programs like the band and drill team should not be the ones that are forced to move. Temporary stands just like the ones the band and drill team are using could easily be set up in areas, for example in front of concessions, and those seats could be sold without having to make the band and drill team move.