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The Financial Burden of Senior Year by Courtney James
Senior year is a stressful time for students. Not only do college applications and decisions come into play, there are also countless events to participate in. When it comes to school events, students are forced to make a difficult decision: money or experiences? Many students in Coventry High School feel the need to choose some events over others due to a lack of money to pay for both.
Senior year is a stressful time for students. Not only do college applications and decisions come into play, there are also countless events to participate in. When it comes to school events, students are forced to make a difficult decision: money or experiences? Many students in Coventry High School feel the need to choose some events over others due to a lack of money to pay for both. What if there was a way to reduce the prices of some events?
Students and parents across the nation are struggling financially when it comes to paying for senior events. Due to these struggles, teenagers often feel as though they need a job to assist with the expenses. However, getting a job might not entirely fix the situation. TeenZeen states that, “due to after school jobs or even summer jobs, many teens are put into a position of earning money for the first time but not knowing how to manage it.” Affording senior events requires money management skills, therefore a lack of these skills may lead to further financial frustration.
Julia Glum states that “there are now a seemingly infinite number of things today’s teens have to budget for.” A senior at CHS (who has opted to remain anonymous) supported this quote when she described what her weekly paycheck is put towards. “Senior events can be quite costly and sometimes it’s hard to come up with so much money all at once.” She explained that she tries to save her money, but finds it difficult to do so when she also has to pay for food, clothes, and car insurance.
Budgeting for senior events is not just a burden on teenagers, but parents also face issues during this time. According to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, the median household income for families in the Coventry area is $65, 507. Unless these families budget properly, they may not be able to comfortably afford these events.
The issues voiced have caused individuals at CHS to search for solutions. One recurring idea is fundraising. Fundraising is a tactic that’s been used for years by organizations such as sports teams, schools, businesses, and charitable organizations. For example, the students at Daisy Brook Elementary School in Fremont, Michigan, hosted a talent show “featuring different acts like hula hooping, comedians, and even magicians.” According to Fox 17 West Michigan News, “the show is donation-based, with all money going to support different year-round activities for the kids as well as improvements to the school’s restrooms and cafeteria.”
A talent show may have been successful for this elementary school, however, this does not mean talent shows are the only way to raise money. Fundraisers have gained popularity due to the countless ways to execute them. The question soon becomes, how does one effectively create a fundraiser?
Mr. Leonard, a teacher at CHS who is senior class adviser, expressed his opinions about senior fundraising. “The trick is finding a fundraiser that you don’t have to put out a lot of money for,” he stated. He explained that the best type of fundraiser is one where students sell supplies sent by a company because very little money is put out and the students receive a check for what they sold. However, in order for this system to work, the whole class has to work together.
Convincing roughly 400 teenagers to join together for a project is much easier said than done. Leonard addressed other concerns about this practice. “You will always get about 200 students that will be interested and only 100 will actually do it.” He then went on to explain that pooling the money made by the class would not be enough to cover the cost of the event. It would be more beneficial to have “individuals rewarded for their own effort.”
If a student raises $120, that student can use that money for their own tickets. This would also solve the possible issues of only a few students raising money and doing all the work for the entire class. His last concern was based on the results of past fundraisers. Leonard encountered multiple issues in the past that caused him to discontinue the fundraising. He said the two main issues were that “not many kids wanted to help out” and “not enough money was raised to lower ticket prices.”
Even though he faced issues in the past, Leonard expressed his interest in giving fundraising another chance, as long as the students are willing to put in the work. In the meantime, he is trying to make the act of paying for senior events a little easier. He stated, “I am aware that you guys are always reaching in your pocket at the end of the year, so I am trying to space out the events.” Increasing the time between each event allows each student to save a little more, rather coming up with so much money all at once. This may not be a permanent solution, however, it is one that will help.