MFISD votes to fund choir trip Dec.9 to White House
The trustees authorized a $37,000 expenditure from the district fund balance, which is around $10 million.
“With $10 million in the fund balance we’ll be able to pay for this from the interest and won’t have to touch the principle,” Superintendent Ryder Warren said.
He added the invitation-only trip is in recognition of the students’ talent.
“This is something these kids deserve,” Warren said. “They’ve worked hard. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.”
About three weeks ago, the White House invited the 44-member group to perform Dec. 9 during an open house.
District officials said local car dealership owner Bob Sewell helped secure the invitation.
The initial invitation only authorized choir director Bryce Gage, assistant choir director Jennie Hodges and 20 members to attend. The Chorale is the top group from the high school’s 140-member plus choir program, which has grown from a handful of students three years ago.
The Chorale decided not to go if it meant cutting nearly half the group from the performance.
“We didn’t want to be in the position where we would have to pick 20 students from the Chorale,” Gage said earlier.
“We are a family,” choir president Chelsea Moores said.
“So we thanked them for the invitation, but said we had to regretfully decline,” Gage said.
The White House staff changed tactics. Within a couple of days, the staff agreed to move the Chorale from the foyer to the East Room, which is the largest room in the White House. Now all 44 members could go.
Gage said he constantly worried about how to pay for the Washington, D.C., trip when hints of an invitation began to surface, especially with only five weeks to go.
The entire choir already has a major fundraiser under way to cover costs for a spring trip to Boston.
But the superintendent and campus principal Allen Roberts told Gage the district would find a way to make the trip happen.
daniel@thepicayune.com