On a recent weekday afternoon, just before the final bell, students at Broadmoor Senior High School noodle on well-worn instruments in the school’s band room.
The whole band isn’t together every class hour, so there’s only a handful of students — this hour is particularly brass-heavy. They practice scales and play whatever notes come to mind, getting comfortable with their instruments so they can eventually come together as a marching band.
One key aspect is missing, though — uniforms.
Broadmoor is one of 11 high schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish public school system that either have old uniforms — some decades old — or none at all. Other schools include Belaire, Capitol, Glen Oaks, Istrouma, Liberty, McKinley, Northeast, Scotlandville, Tara and Woodlawn.
Broadmoor enrolls about 900 students. The majority identify as Black or Hispanic, and over half of them qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, according to federal data.
When Jay Morris took the job as band director at Broadmoor this year, he found a mock-up for uniforms, sky blue with white accents, hanging in his office.
The design is inspired by the uniforms worn by Southern University’s elite Human Jukebox, which recently performed at the Super Bowl.
Morris says the uniform is a “nod to what inspires us.” It’s also a far cry from the t-shirts that make up the band’s current uniform.
Band Together fund
EBR Superintendent LaMont Cole has only been on the job for a year, but has made some big changes.
Buildings have been closed to cut costs, and the district is looking for new sources of funding for Cole’s priorities, like putting cameras in school buses. All this comes while the threat of another breakaway district looms.
The Foundation for East Baton Rouge School System is a nonprofit that fundraises for the district. This year, one of their fundraisers is hoping to outfit high school bands. Jennifer Lightfoot, the foundation’s executive director, said that on the high end, it’ll cost about $500,000 to get everyone suited up — about $45,000 per school band.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, and we want the whole community behind it,” Lightfoot said.
They started the Band Together fund earlier this month, and they already have a head start. Studyville, a local tutoring business, donated $25,000 this month. Community members have also been donating, Lightfoot said, and the campaign is most of the way to funding their first band. She hopes to fund at least two by the end of this school year.
Companies can also choose to sponsor a band. If they donate $50,000, the band will be sponsored by the company for five years.
Glen Oaks and Liberty are first in line for uniforms, then money will go to other bands based on need, said Lightfoot.
Jermia Montgomery, the Broadmoor High band’s drum major, said that the band hasn’t really had the resources it needed, and the new uniforms would be a confidence booster.
“It’ll help with the image,” she said. “We always want to look good. Especially when we need to sit there and be presentable.”
Lightfoot said the Band Together fund won’t close once everyone is outfitted, so district officials will hopefully have an ongoing source to pay for instruments. Lightfoot said private dollars are the way to get projects funded faster.
“ That's what private dollars are. When they're best used, when you're supporting a school and you can get something done very quickly,” Lightfoot said. “If this were done by the school, which it could be, it may take years to get this done.”
