Westbrook High School music boosters and students, with the help of school officials, have one last chance to gather enough students to field a marching band this year.

Students and parents have until Aug. 21 to recruit as many musicians and color guard members as they can. The goal is to gather all potential band members at the high school that morning at 8 a.m. At that time, the music department staff will determine if there are enough musicians to field a band.

Principal Marc Gousse said the school would be mailing out letters and postcards this week to every Westbrook High student and incoming freshman that has participated in music, inviting them to Monday’s meeting. He said he’s hopeful the school will be able to field a band.

The school’s renewed effort is a reversal of a decision made Aug. 8 at a band booster meeting by Music Director Phil Rich and incoming Marching Band Director Kyle Smith to cancel the marching band because of low student turnout.

At that meeting, Smith told the boosters and Drum Major Michelle Labbe, the only student present, that the school didn’t have the numbers to field a band, according to Labbe. Smith told the boosters the band camp slated to begin Aug. 14 would be cancelled unless Labbe and others could gather enough musicians at the school, Labbe said.

Labbe and others called as many students in the music program at the high school and incoming freshmen as they could. She said they couldn’t contact everyone because she didn’t have a list of all the students. She said school officials refused to provide her a list of students citing privacy issues, but Gousse offered to mail postcards for them. Also, the school hadn’t sent notices out to music students announcing the date and time of band camp as they had in previous years.

About 26 potential marching band members showed up at the school Aug. 14, with additional students saying they were interested in being in the band but were unable to come because of work or vacation commitments, according to Labbe.

Of those present, about half were musicians and half color guard, although several members of the color guard play instruments and said they’d be willing to play an instrument in the band, according to music booster Sue Quinlan.

For prospective band members, the afternoon started on a low note and ended on a high note. They were first told that there would be no band and they would have to contact other high schools if they wanted to participate in the marching band.

“I couldn’t be more upset,” said Diana Quinlan, color guard captain, through tears on Aug. 14. “It’s extremely frustrating that the administration let us down. It’s ridiculous. The administration has known from June that they had this job to do, and they didn’t do it.”

After several parents visited Westbrook School Superintendent Stan Sawyer in his office Monday, Gousse came out of the school to tell those present he would do whatever he could to make sure Westbrook got its marching band back.

“Because band camp didn’t start today, does that mean your season is over? No,” Gousse told the kids assembled on the grass. “Whatever it takes from me on my end, I’m going to it. The last thing we want to see is to not have the program move forward.”

The afternoon was typical of the confusion that has reigned between the school and its students this summer over whether there would be a band. Many former marching band members said the school hadn’t communicated with them properly or tried hard enough to recruit a band.

“I’m a little disappointed and sorry that you had to go through the mixed messages,” said Gousse.

Last year, the school didn’t sent out notices, which was followed by a low turnout at the first day of band camp causing then-director Scott Trach to cancel the marching band for the year.

Labbe said she has worked tirelessly since the end of school last year trying to recruit members for the marching band. She said she and Quinlan called as many kids as they could.

Labbe said she had been waiting to be drum major for nine years. She said she was frustrated at not having a band last year and feels every year that passes without the return of the band, the likelihood of that return gets slimmer.

Incoming freshman tenor saxophone player John Labbe agreed with his older sister, saying last year felt like a temporary absence of the band, but this year it feels more permanent.

“You can’t do it two years in a row and expect to get the band back,” he said, adding that he’s helped on the band truck moving instruments for years and couldn’t imagine not having a marching band.

The Labbes live within earshot of the high school, and John Labbe said he misses hearing the band practicing this time of year. “You don’t hear the snap of the snares anymore,” he said. “It’s just empty. You don’t hear people drilling in the parking lot or anything.”

Sawyer said he was also hopeful the school could bring back the band after the disappointment of last year not having a band.

“It was one of the big disappointments since I’ve been superintendent to not field a marching band,” Sawyer said. “I can understand the students being disappointed. I was disappointed. I know the community was disappointed.”

Sawyer said the school has the money set aside in the budget for a band, a director for the band and all other necessary resources provided enough kids come out.

Sawyer said he hopes the renewed effort to revive the band will make the difference. “If the school didn’t do everything it could, it certainly is doing everything it possibly can now,” he said. He also added that he was pleased the students’ efforts to get their band back.

In an Aug. 15 interview, Smith acknowledged that no letters were sent to students and the first meeting he and Rich had with parents and any students was at the Aug. 8 booster meeting. At that meeting, Smith said he and Rich informed the boosters that the band camp was canceled unless an adequate number of students came out.

There are differing opinions as to how many musicians are necessary to field a marching band. According to many at the school Aug. 14, other schools have fielded marching bands with as few as a dozen or so musicians. “I saw bands in the state of Maine last year with 10 kids,” said Diana Quinlan.

Sue Quinlan agreed with her daughter, saying she knew of at least four or five other area schools who participated in marching band contests last year with less than 25 band members.

“It’s heartbreaking because in our band room there are hundreds of trophies,” said Diana Quinlan.

Labbe and Quinlan said they had people coming up to them at the competitions last year saying it was a shame that Westbrook had lost their marching band because of its tradition and success.

“No one thought Westbrook’s would be a program to go away,” said color guard co-captain Laura Merrill.

Smith wouldn’t commit to a minimum number necessary but said instead he wants to see how many students come out Monday morning. He said he doesn’t believe interest in music in Westbrook is waning among students, pointing to a jazz workshop offered for the first time this summer that attracted 30 eighth and ninth graders in its first year.

Smith said he believed student interest is being directed at certain parts of the program at the expense of others, namely the marching band. He also said he wouldn’t be interested in fielding a marching band that he believed had inadequate numbers, regardless of whether the kids wanted to go ahead with it.

“I love doing marching band,” he said. “But I only love it if it’s good for the kids.”

Smith said the decision on Monday would be final, based on the number of kids that show up. The meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. at Westbrook High School.

One last chance for Westbrook marching bandOne last chance for Westbrook marching bandOne last chance for Westbrook marching band

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