Over the years teaching at Greenwood Middle School, music teacher Donald Kaluyger heard students and parents talk about how wanted to join band, but could not afford an instrument.
Sometimes Kaluyger had a spare instrument to loan the student. Sometimes he did not. And he suspects a lot of students let the financial aspect of joining band scare them off without Kaluyger ever hearing about them.
Kaluyger doesn’t the price of an instrument to stop students from joining band.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“You do not want it to be a limiting factor, where people cannot do it because they cannot afford it,” Kaluyger said.
He recently received two $750 grants from the Greenwood Education Foundation to pay to refurbish and repair used instruments to be given to students.
Now, he is looking for donated instruments that can be repaired and refurbished.
An instrument drop-off day is planned from 9 a.m. to noon on May 12 at Greenwood Middle School, 1584 Averitt Road. All instruments dropped off will be considered tax deductible donations, he said.
“We can get them to students who could not afford to be in band otherwise,” Kaluyger said.
Most students who join band at the middle school opt to rent to own their instruments over their middle school years. Renting the instruments costs between $800 and $1,200 spread out over three years.
Some families have trouble making the payments or hit a financial snag that make them unable to afford the payments, Kaluyger said.
Families with high school students in band usually have already made enough payments to own their instruments. And students and parents can volunteer to work events or do fundraisers to make their high school band fees affordable, he said.
Middle school families are often scared of the costs of band, he said.
“Our goal is to not eliminate people from the program because of instruments,” Kaluyger said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Used instrument collection day. Donald Kaluyger received grants from the Greenwood Education Foundation to repair and refurbish used instruments to give to middle school students.
When: 9 a.m. to noon May 12
Where: Greenwood Middle School, 1584 Averitt Road.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
