This letter is written to clarify some matters surrounding the controversy of our marching band's practices. Liberty High School has been happy with the support given to our band by parents and residents in nearby neighborhoods.

Our marching band practices long hours in the evening. They compete with bands from across the east coast that are much larger than ours.
They fare well in those competitions.

The Superintendent and the county attorney received an inquiry about the noise ordinance as it relates to the marching band practice sessions. An investigation followed and it was determined that sometimes the band reached 70 decibels during practice time; the ordinance allows volumes up to 65 decibels. No citation or injunction was requested by the person who requested the inquiry. The Home Owner's Association did not have any involvement in the inquiry. There have been no complaints about band competitions that take place on the stadium field, football games, or any other athletic event.

The Superintendent has told me that he receives some complaints about bands from neighbors of other high schools in the county. However, he has also said that none of the complaints has risen to the level that this complaint has.

Recently, the media attention and the resulting communications with the school have made it clear to us that our neighbors are very proud of our students. Some of our neighbors have told me that they purchased their homes specifically because it neighbored the school property. People understand that public high schools are central to the community and that they provide excellent opportunities for teens to be productively engaged in meaningful activities such as athletics, drama and music programs.

An email was generated by a Liberty High School teacher and forwarded to numerous individuals by a booster member on September 7. Another email was written by a member of the marching band staff shortly thereafter. A weblog was created online on which individuals have expressed their feelings about the issue. We are aware that those emails and blogs caused some concern to some of our neighbors and to members of a nearby Home Owner's Association. The communications were not representative of the views of the school administration, nor were they all accurate. If anyone was offended by the language in any of these emails, I apologize on behalf of the school.

I have personally met with members of the marching band to assure them of administrative support and to encourage them to "take the high road"
in this as in all other controversies. The administration does not feel that any citizen groups or Home Owner Associations have formed together to stop the band from practicing.

We have attempted to deal with the concerns of our neighbors and all individuals in a professional manner by working with a county agency that is designed to oversee environmental compliance and to make recommendations to organizations like ours when compliance issues arise.
Until a report from that office is issued, we will operate as we have for the past 27 years. We limit our band practice time to Tuesday and Thursday evenings and end those practices by 9:00 p.m. I promise to review the recommendations of the forthcoming report from the Office of Environmental Compliance with the Superintendent as soon as it is issued and to implement any changes that are both recommended and feasible.

The school wants to be a good neighbor. One "neighborly" change that I have implemented since becoming principal is to have car show fundraisers take place off campus. We hope that the residents near the school appreciate this change. We hope that our neighbors are proud of our school. I invite anyone with a concern about this matter or about our community presence to make an appointment to meet with me. Thank you in advance for supporting our athletic and music programs this fall as our students compete for championships an learn valuable life lessons.