Lurking in the depths of the My School Bucks accounts of every Danbury High School student is an invoice for class dues. Every student is required to pay these $100.00. Yet many juniors are unaware of what these dues are for and why they have to pay them. 

The Class of 2025 class advisor, Olga Carcamo, has the answers. The class dues must be paid as they “help reduce the cost” for “social events where the students come together,” adding on how “in the past, there’s been ice cream socials, there’s been movie nights, and different things like that.” In addition, this money would be directed towards cap and gown measurements as well as senior trips. Kaylan Alexander, the junior class treasurer, explained that “the sooner people actually pay their dues, the more events class officers can plan for our class.”

Junior and Senior Prom

The biggest use of this money, however, is prom. Every student’s contribution is used “primarily to help reduce costs for junior and senior prom,” according to Carcamo. The only sources of funding for prom are tickets and class dues. The reduction of these costs is also incredibly important. Alexander also explained that this year’s junior prom will cost 19 thousand dollars to organize. Currently, the math means that each junior will need to pay 80 dollars for their ticket in order to simply break even on prom costs.

Fundraisers

Alexander added that ticket prices could be reduced if students simply paid their dues. Prices may also be reduced through fundraisers. However, fundraisers need an initial investment in order to generate donations. Without the funding from dues, the junior class officers will not be able to organize large, revenue-generating events. Nevertheless, they have made their attempts. The Hispanic-Heritage Month celebration, according to Alexander, “raised two thousand dollars.” This was a fundraising event that included a dance celebrating the large Hispanic population of Danbury High School. 

Another fundraiser organized by the Class of 2025 student council was a gift basket raffle. Alexander stated that “the baskets costed 150 {dollars}” to make while the profits were only 150 dollars, meaning that they were barely able to break even. On top of that, many of the prizes were produced with the help of donations. Carcamo, for instance, brought in baskets from her home while “30-dollar gift cards were also donated.”

As such, it becomes apparent that the amount being raised will hardly make a dent in the 19 thousand dollar tag on prom. 

The Solution

As of the start of the 2023-24 school year, less than 200 of the 833 DHS juniors had paid their dues, according to Carcamo. With no help from the administration, it is up to the student council and the class advisors to scrounge up the money needed to fund junior and senior prom, cap and gown measurements, senior class events, and any additional events that the Class of 2025 would like to attend. As of now, the only real solution is to spread the word and encourage DHS juniors to pay their class dues. No matter how many flyers are posted and announcements are made, it is ultimately up to the Class of 2025 to make their valuable contributions. Alexander had a final note for her fellow juniors, “If you want a good prom, pay your dues!”