Dear Parents of students formerly going to D.C.:

After a contentious and hard-fought negotiation with the travel company, we are moving forward with the refund process. I sincerely apologize for how drawn out this has been and ultimately, the goal besides getting as high of a refund amount as possible is to get your money back in your pocket.

Please know, I brought our Superintendent, Dr. DeFalco in on this negotiation to help strengthen our message that the families of Blackstone and Millville should not be punished during a national crisis in which MCI canceled the parade, not us.

From the start of this process, the travel company who also is a partner in organizing every band performing in the parade, Music Celebrations International, has insisted that there are fees and deposits from vendors that they cannot recoup and that is part of the penalty levied against families; this while not offering transparency of what those fees are.

In the end, the penalty was reduced to $80 per student, meaning that you will receive everything that you paid, MINUS $80. We are waiting for the refund to come in. As soon as it’s received, BMMA will begin issuing refunds. Refunds will be distributed via the method of payment received, i.e. if you paid by check, you will receive a check.

When MCI first reached out regarding the refund, it was factoring to a $114 penalty per student. Music Celebrations International, (1-800-395-2036), President John Wiscombe ([email protected]) was difficult throughout this process, even insulting at times. Needless to say, we will not be looking at trips/parades again that are run by this company.

I apologize that more couldn’t be achieved.

I look forward to seeing your child again and making music,

Todd