For many years, the Northsound Youth Symphony (NSYS) has been an important organization in Bellingham. It has provided a much higher level orchestral experience to more dedicated players throughout Whatcom County than they can get with the public schools. Knowing that the students in NSYS generally come from families that are college educated, many of them at Western Washington University (WWU), and that many of them will attend Washington state universities someday, WWU used to keep the cost of renting their spaces low, at just under $2,000 a year. Since the public literally pays for everything WWU has, this seems reasonable.

This policy has never before been an inconvenience to WWU. Many of the parents and staff are associated with WWU and all WWU really had to do was give a few of them some keys and ask them to clean up after themselves, which they always did. There was no real expense to WWU and all the rental money was profit. On top of that, WWU made a substantial amount over the years in parking fees for groups using their facilities. Yet this year, WWU announced their intention to increase their rental rate to NSYS by 10 times. They are going to charge almost $20,000 a year for the same rental space that, only a few months ago, they provided for ten times less.

So, where will NSYS go? Perhaps to the Bellingham Public Schools? Well, maybe, but many community groups have been forced out of the public schools due to their high rental fees. This is the current fee schedule for BPS, however, BPS has already told the Herald that they will be raising their rental fees, too. Even though, just like WWU, the rate to use their facilities is entirely made up. That’s right, just like WWU, the groups that use the facilities pay a rental fee and are expected to treat the facilities with respect and clean up after themselves. The amount of wear any occasional group inflicts on the facilities is negligible compared to the heavy use they receive from students during the school year.

Extortion seems to be the new method of fundraising in Bellingham. The upcoming Bellingham Symphony Orchestra’s concert with Yo-Yo Ma, is an event so expensive that only the wealthiest individuals can attend it in the first place. Now, the Mount-Baker Theater is tacking on an additional $75 per ticket as a “historic space preservation" fee when they already charge high fees for the theater’s use in the first place. Again, it’s not like the Symphony has lots of expenses much beyond paying rent for their space at the theater. Sure, they pay a few staff members, and a few players (principals and assistant principals only), but the rates they pay them are laughable and no other members are paid.

At the same time the Symphony claims not to have enough money to pay all their musicians, which is not true, they definitely cough up big dollars for artists connected to board members. This policy dismisses equivalently skilled artists here in our own community, who would play for less, and the money would reward the very people that keep our community vibrant and make the symphony possible in the first place. Still, if you bring this up they will tell you, just like WWU and BPS, that they are a charity that just can’t afford to do the right thing and pay their orchestra members.

So we see a trend here. These organizations claim to have expenses, but when we analyze them, we find that their expenses are negligible at best. WWU is charging $32,213/year, including expenses, per student now. A rate so high that it keeps many from being able to go to college in the first place, which was NOT the goal of having public institutions. On top of that, they take in rental fees for facilities, which are purely profit, and parking fees, as well as receiving donations and grants. Oh yes, and don’t forget, we are forced to pay for some of their expenses in our taxes. Yet they always claim to be broke.

The same applies to Bellingham Public Schools. They pay about a million dollars a year to their top five administrators whose usefulness is questionable in the first place, while firing dozens of needed teachers and staff. WWU does the same thing. They hire adjunct professors and pay them as little as possible. Benefits are never mentioned and they do not treat staff like the professionals they are. Yet they overpay administrators and then leech from a community that always votes “yes” when they ask for buildings or upgrades.

Bellingham Symphony Orchestra has more than enough money to pay all of their members, but they simply don’t. In fact, in the not too distant past they even tried to remove childcare reimbursements for members with performance degrees from some of the most competitive institutions in the world. Yet each member is required to pass an audition to show they are at least semi-professional level or better. Management says they can’t afford it, then they turn around and line the pockets of some headliners instead of hiring professionals from their own community to play instead. The situation has gotten so bad that some of the BSO players have had to form a union-like players group to address their concerns. The City of Bellingham is following this trend as well; claiming to be almost bankrupt while constantly raising our taxes.

It’s the same game the powerful always play whenever workers question their motives. Yet, we have only ourselves to blame since we always seem to believe them. But it’s more than belief. People close to the situation know they will never be welcome in these organizations, regardless of their skill, if they question the top officials. It’s well known that you won’t remain working at the school district if you talk about how they are covering up increasing cases of student-on-teacher assaults. Basically, if you annoy the superintendent, Greg Baker, you’re toast. So people keep their mouths shut because they have bills to pay and mouths to feed. They simply adapt. They quit asking to use facilities at schools and universities they are forced to pay for with their taxes. There are more people in Bellingham than ever before, paying higher taxes than ever before, but the powerful expect us to believe that they are just out of money.

Well, it’s bullshit. We shouldn’t have to pay extortion-like rates to use public facilities we’ve already paid for with our taxes to improve the lives of our citizens. Isn’t that the entire point of having public institutions and public infrastructure?! So perhaps we should keep this in mind the next time these organizations whine about how poor they are.

In the end, they will make it unaffordable for most of the public to use their facilities. They will always claim to be out of money, they will always say their extortion is necessary, and they will continue to demand a higher level of skill while paying nothing. And most of us, out of fear, will let them do it. Just like how you submissively pay your increased “protection money” rates to the thugs when the local mob boss tells you your fees are going up.

It’s time to fire lots of people at the top and replace them with experienced workers. In the meantime though, want to know who is really going to lose out? As usual, it’s the families of working class people in Bellingham.