Government shutdown may leave high school choir singing the blues

By Lanz Christian Bañes

VALLEJO, CA — What once was anticipated as an exciting trip to
the nation’s capital could prove disappointing — and more
expensive — for dozens of Vallejo students.

“If the (federal) shutdown’s still going on, we have to put in
even more money,” said Ryan Lee, director of St. Patrick-St.
Vincent High School’s choir.

Since September, the choir has been planning and raising funds
for a trip to Washington, D.C., for a music festival. But the
festival lasts only half a day of the students’ five-day trip.

The rest would have been spent seeing the iconic landmarks
and institutions of the United States — things that will be
shuttered if lawmakers and President Barack Obama fail to have a
budget in place by midnight.

“There are several sites that we’re not going to see any more,
like the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian. Monuments, memorials and
stuff will be closed as well. … We had a pretty tightly scheduled
tour itinerary, and now that’s pretty much shot to hell,” said Lee,
a 2002 St. Pat’s graduate who took over as choir director last
January.

Students raised more than $15,000, but the 43 choir students
attending the trip have paid a combined $35,000 of their own money,
Lee said. Much of the planned Washington sightseeing and tourism
would have been free, Lee said.

Now Lee and the choir are scrambling to find other things to do
— added expenses to an already pricey trip.