Liberty High School Band and Orchestra Parents Club

Liberty High School Band and Orchestra Parents Club

LHSGBOPC General Meeting Minutes, August 13, 2026

General Meeting 08-13-2026

Treasurer’s Report August 2026

Treasurer’s Report August 2026 YTD

Board members in attendance:

Directors: Allen Frank and Bill Lennox

Julie Mixtacki (President), Art Oakes (VP Student Accounts), Mike Calagna (VP Volunteers), Teresa McNish (Treasurer), and Michelle Miller (Secretary)

 

Board members in absent:

None

 

Approval of Minutes from  05-14-2026: 

Julie called the meeting to order. She introduced herself and welcomed everyone to the meeting.She asked for approval on May’s minutes. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Steph Cramer. Second by Melissa Cheatham. (Motion passed)

 

Report from Treasurer (Teresa):

  • Monthly report 6/1 – 6/30
    • Starting balance: $86,120.70
    • Ending balance: $90,476.65
    • Income: $6,530.31
    • Expenses: $2,174.36
  • Q1, Q2, Q3 have been audited. Yi-Wen sent the report. No corrections or revisions.
  • Monthly report 7/1 – 7/31
    • Starting balance: $90,476.65
    • Ending balance: $85,443.60
    • Income: $0
    • Expenses: $5,033.05
  • July had no income. The expenses were from the Pop’s concert and uniform cleaning.
  • Approval of Treasurer’s Report

A motion to approve was made by Dr. Roy. Second by Marta Marques. Overall approval by the full organization. (Motion passed).

 

Report from VP of Student Accounts (Art):

  • All fundraisers are listed on our website: https://lhsgbopc.org/ 
  • Art introduced himself.
  • When the school year begins, CutTime will be updated.
  • The first fundraiser will be mums. More information will come out through BandApp.
  • Your program dues matter. Please be diligent in paying for it.

Report from VP of Volunteers (Mike):

  • Mike introduced himself.
  • Our organization can’t run without parent volunteers.
  • Mike explained the signup sheet for interest in volunteering opportunities.
  • We will need parent and student volunteers for the car wash, especially the 9-1 shift.

 

Report from Directors:

  • Mr. Lennox 
    • Mr. Lennox introduced himself.
    • It is truly incredible to make it to 100 years as a program and have 201 students in the program.

Program Dues 26-27:

  • Program Dues are how we afford to have this huge program and maintain our status not only in the community but also across the state and country and internationally now.
  • Different options/models this year:
    • Option 1: Band (needs shoes) $150
    • Option 2: Band (no shoes) $100
    • Option 3: sibling ? 1st child pays option 1 or 2
    •                                  2+ child pays $75
    • Option 4: orchestra $75
  • Program Dues are due October 31st. We know that families are all in different financial situations and we will work with families, but so much of the expenses are happening right now.
  • Page 2 of the Program Dues document has a breakdown of prices.
    If you look online at our shoes, you will see that they are cheaper. But, they are charging nearly $25 for shipping. When we order in bulk we can reduce that shipping cost.
    We also do gloves and performance tshirts. The performance t-shirts are required to be worn at every performance.
    It also includes cleaning, maintenance, and upkeeping. It also includes supplies (as much as it can cover). 
  • Basic Rules for Uniform
    • Band Uniform:
      • Black uniform shoes
      • long black socks with no logos (calf length – recommend buying in bulk)
      • gloves 
      • No long pants under uniform pants (no jeans)
      • No turtle necks
      • Earrings and nose piercings must be taken out or use clear plastic studs or bandaids
      • Long hair – must go up under bearskin
      • When in uniform, no crocs or baseball hats
      • This is the authentic Cold Stream Guard uniform so we must respect that.
    • Orchestra uniform:
      • Every orchestra student gets assigned a tux or dress. Mrs. Wydrzynski takes care of that but we take care of the financial end. 
  • Uniform Contract (Needs to be returned by October 1st)
    • This states that you and your student understand the rules of the contract.

CutTime:

  • CutTime is a program the district purchased for us 3 or 4 years ago.
  • If you have an account from middle school, they will roll over.
  • When you log in, it will say you owe $150. If you have multiple students, email Mr. Lennox so it can be updated.
  • If your student is in Band & Orchestra, they will have just the band fee.
  • To log in, go to https://lhsgbopc.org/cut-time/
    This is at our webpage (lhsgbopc.org). Click on the Information tab and then click on CutTime.
  • If you have multiple students, something is incorrect or if you are having trouble logging in, email Mr. Lennox.
  • You can pay with a card through CutTime.
  • If you are struggling financially, send an email to Art or Teresa and we can make arrangements.
  • We want you and your students to succeed in this program.

Buying Instruments

  • Do not buy instruments on Amazon.
  • All brass instruments are now considered a national security threat and are getting a 25% tariff.
  • The only US brass company closed yesterday and will now be making their instruments in China.
  • Reach out to the directors and they will help you to find an instrument within your budget.
  • Thank you to the board to make sure we have enough instruments. Thanks to the school board and our parent board, we purchased 20 new instruments this year to ensure all students have instruments.

1st Company

  • Mr. Lennox directs 1st Company.
  • The 1st rehearsal is the first day of school.
  • Gig next week: Tuesday 12pm at Freedom
    • 10-12 grade 1st Co. members.
    • 10 min gig
    • If they can’t make it, your student must find a substitute.
  • Thank you for coming out and supporting our program.
  • Mr. Frank 
    • Mr. Frank introduced himself.
    • The directors will touch on everything and post the information before it happens.

Communication

  • BandApp/Synergy
  • Orchestra families have not been sent a lot out through Synergy yet.
  • When you sign up on BandApp use your first and last name.
  • BandApp is for posting information only.
  • When emailing the directors, email both directors so everyone knows what’s happening.
  • BandApp messages aren’t always seen, so we prefer email through school email.
  • BandApp ? Directors posting information.
  • Email ? Questions/Communication to directors
  • 25-26 BandApp will be shut down.
  • If you email and need a response and haven’t heard, please email again.

Pictures (Tomorrow)

  • The flyer from Christmas City was sent through Synergy.
  • There is no composite shot, so individual shots are by choice.
  • The group shot will be on the field.
  • Students need to be here dressed and ready by 8am.
  • London shifted our schedule. We just finished unboxing for picture day.
  • Any pinned trousers will get done before the 1st game.
  • 1st Co. gig Tuesday is a uniform gig.
  • Student Quartermasters are crushing fitting kids. Shout out to Gia and Mark!
    • We are asking for grace and patience. Things will get done properly.
    • If there are problems, please send an email.
  • Shoes
    • Shoes are in.
    • If they are not fitting properly, put them back in the bag. We will do a second order.
  • ParentSquare
    • The district is moving to ParentSquare.
    • We will be rolling that out also. If it is good, we will phase out BandApp.
  • Season tickets or yearly pass goes live Monday. The link will be posted in the bulletin. We are a cashless ticketing system. Tickets are done through Hometown Ticketing.
  • Next week:
    • Monday (last full day): 8am-3pm
    • Tuesday – Thursday: 6pm – 8:30pm
    • We may need to use Lafayette Field (up the street). We will always meet at LHS and walk up together.
    • Friday: Preview Night

Attendance

  • 67 fall athletes with 23 of those are on the cross country team.
  • Many sporting events are scheduled on Fridays. 
  • Band is a varsity activity with all students being a starter with no one on the bench.
  • Attendance is crucial for practice and performances.
  • When students miss, we have to step backwards and reteach.
  • We can only grow if we can move forward.
  • We need to keep the standard by having everyone here.
  • We ask that parents and students honor their commitments.
  • The program does 110-115 gigs per year as a program.
  • Please be attentive to the schedule and commitment.

 

QUESTIONS:

  • What are the hair guidelines (bangs)?
    All hair goes up under the bearskin. No human hair showing.
  • Do you still need a seamstress?
    Right now we are in a good place. But, we would love to continue to build a list of people that have sewing talents and that can help hem trousers. Please send an email if you are willing to help.
  • Can you tell us about future trips?
    We do not have a schedule for trips (specific number of years between trips). We do what is best for the program at the time. There is no formula or schedule. Always good to fundraise and bank fundraising money so when the next trip comes you are ready.
  • Students who are at the car wash will that go in their individual accounts?
    Fundraiser events like Bingo, car wash, etc. go into the general fund for the good of the band. Fundraisers like salsa, mums, etc. go into the individual accounts.

New Business:

  • Julie introduced non presenting board members.
  • Car wash needs more students and parents.
  • We are looking for water for home and away games.

 

A motion to close the meeting was made by Marge Crami. Second by Greg Bassett. Overall approval by the full organization.