This money argument gets so old. It completely discounts all the work the kids, staff, and parents put into the program.
Just throwing money and a band doesn't make them great. You have to have great directors that can foster these kids starting in middle school to become great musicians. You need the support of the boosters and parents that will be willing to make band their lives for 4 years and sometime beyond. And of course the support the district thats willing to back these programs. I don't think it's a coincidence that the top three bands in the DFW area come from one district.
Some directors, some districts, some boosters are just better at what they do than others.