Although Monte Vista school dances can seem overpriced, at least there’s food. But wait, there’s a catch. You have to bring money to buy food there.

     Has it ever occured to you that at Monte Vista, we pay more for less regarding school dances? Take homecoming, for example. The regular price of tickets is $40, $35 with the ASB discount. 

     “It would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about paying for a drink or even food on top of the overpriced entry ticket,” said junior Dominique Bright. “It would really help since I don’t always have cash on hand.”

     The tickets exclude food and drinks, which you have to pay for separately. Meanwhile, at Dougherty Valley, both food and drinks are included as tickets cost $35 for students and $42 for guests. 

     “Dougherty provided much more activities,” said senior Ylicia Godinez, who attended Dougherty Valley’s homecoming dance. “There was a silent disco, a photo booth, and there were games.”

     So why are Monte Vista dances not as interactive as they are in other schools?

     “Leadership does not have a dance fund,” ASB president Zoe Damaschino said. “All the money we make selling tickets to a dance pretty much pays for having a DJ, getting any sorts of decorations, et cetera.”

     So, Monte Vista doesn’t have a dance fund. And it looks like funding differentiates within schools in the district, where some provide funding for certain events as others don’t. 

     “I think that when it comes to food being catered, it’s a very cool thing to offer, but it’s also very expensive,” Damaschino said. “Providing free food would have to be covered somehow because it would be a pricey thing to just spend money on.”

     The main thing to note about this dilemma is that each individual vendor at an event has a different business deal with our school’s leadership.

     “We try to steer away from using the same [vendors] over and over again,” ASB treasurer Nicole Vawter said. “Food trucks we don’t even have to pay for, we just book them and they come and whatever profit they make they just keep. There are certain food trucks that will give you ten percent of what they make but it’s all just [dependent on the vendor].”

     Vawter also stated that ticket prices are dependent on how expensive the vendors are, since they directly go towards paying off the vendors charges.

      “Last year we used a new [photography company] because the Kardashians use it,” Vawter said. “It was more expensive, but everyone loved it… and it was nicer and higher quality.

      Vawter also stated that Leadership’s funds are divided based on classes with each different grade level having their own account. And certain events or dances are covered by certain classes, for instance, the seniors fund pays for homecoming and senior ball, while the junior fund covers prom.

      Vawter also is the ASB fund that serves as a collective fund that not just Leadership, but also sports and clubs are able to draw from if they need extra money.

      “The only fundraising that we do is class fundraisers,” Vawter said. “[Each class] has their own little fundraiser that their officers can plan, but the only big fundraiser that we have is for the senior class for homecoming.”