In just about a year, prom season will come around once again, and students from the Junior and Senior classes will enjoy meals, dancing, and music with their classmates.
To make such a great night affordable for everyone, the student government must work to prevent the ticket prices from being too costly through various fundraisers. “All of our fundraisers, such as Swoosh for Change, our pizza fundraiser, and cupcake fundraiser, were all crucial in keeping prices lower,” said Hayden Darr, Class of 2027, President.
In addition to this, the venue, the Westbrook Elks, was chosen in consideration of keeping ticket prices lower compared to other prom venues and to prevent anything from being “scaled back” for the big night.
For the 2027 graduating class, many have been happy with the success of these components in keeping the overall ticket price low. “The majority have been pretty pleased with ticket prices compared to other venues, previous years, and other schools. For example, multiple people have claimed that they are happy that our prices are lower than in previous years,” said Hayden Darr
Hendrick Bausch, Class of 2027 Treasurer, elaborates, saying, “The response has been very positive, especially regarding the sub-$100 price point. For example, one senior mentioned they were able to afford a better suit because the ticket cost significantly less than the $150 they had originally braced for.” “Since the prom tickets were lower, it gave me more freedom for deciding what I could wear,” said the senior.
For those concerned with next year’s Junior prom, the money pooled from sophomore fundraising goes straight into lowering ticket prices and saving the going money. “One of our biggest priorities was choosing a venue that offered high value. Most of the major decorative elements, like the centerpieces and table settings, are actually included in our package from Bill Miller’s Castle, a wedding and prom event space in Branford.
“Because the venue is already so beautiful and provides these items, we don’t have to spend a large portion of our budget on decor. This allows us to funnel more of our fundraising profit directly into lowering ticket prices and planning future events like senior prom and the senior trip. For example, every cent of profit from our recent stuffed bread fundraiser went directly toward reducing the cost of prom tickets for those participants,” said Brayden Winnicki, Class of 2028 President
No definitive per-student breakdown has been released for next year’s Junior prom, as it is still in the active fundraising phase, but the cost of the night appears to be in good hands. “Students can rest assured that their ticket covers the ‘full experience’: the venue rental, a high-quality meal, and professional DJ services. We expect to announce the exact, finalized pricing next year once our final fundraising totals are in,” said Brayden Winnicki, going on to say, “Ticket prices can vary widely depending on the venue, number of students attending, and fundraising. While we don’t have the exact numbers yet, we are working hard to make sure everyone can enjoy prom to the fullest.”
The vision of Junior prom next year has not had to be scaled back at all and has remained true to the original concept laid out. “Thanks to the efforts of our class government, our advisors, and the student body, we have been very successful in our fundraisers. We’re in a great position where we can keep the quality high without making sacrifices,” said Brayden Winnicki
As for the upcoming Class of 2030, it should be noted that fundraising for prom should be a priority from the start. “I would tell them to start fundraising right away. That was a mistake that our class made a little bit. We didn’t quite understand how crucial it was to fundraise immediately and only ended up having very minimal fundraisers, but since then, we have raised a lot more money,” said Hayden Darr
Karla Duque, Class of 2026 President, warns about the issues with getting the number of projected students at an event like prom wrong. “We had projected for 120 students to attend prom, and we now have 150. We also projected 60 students for the Senior Trip, and about 80 signed up. This caused there to be an increase in sales tax for both events, which was something we were unprepared for, but luckily, we had enough money to afford it,” she said
Just like Hayden, Brayden Winnicki emphasizes the importance of starting fundraising as early as possible. “My biggest advice is to start fundraising early and learn from every event. During our freshman year, we started with smaller fundraisers like the HOCO football game raffle and worked our way up to big projects where the whole grade can participate, like the stuffed bread sale. It’s important to figure out what works with your specific class so you can get everyone involved,” he said
