In the first few weeks of the school year, class officers have been looking at the size of the bank accounts and their projected expenses. Over the course of the year, they fundraise to prepare for future events and build for following years.
The seniors, with only about $700 in their account, find themselves as one of the lowest out of all the classes and commissions and in a position to start raising money soon, class president Robert Scott said.
This contrasts to the trends of the past, in which seniors have usually had the most money starting the year because of the longer time they’ve had to fundraise. Scott, however, reasons that this is due to the large down payment they recently placed for senior prom.
“We dropped a lot of money for prom, which is normal for most classes,” Scott said. “Coming into the year, we realized our bank account is low, but it’s because nobody else has to pay for senior prom.”
To compensate for their low balance, the seniors plan to start fundraising right away through typical pearl milk tea and donut fundraises helping them pay for Homecoming decorations. They also plan to fundraise from senior apparel later in the year.
“We’re trying to make some money, and if we don’t pay for the things we have to pay for, we’re going to be in trouble,” Scott said. “It puts on a little pressure, but I’m not worried that we can’t do it. It’s just going to take some effort.”
Although the senior class funds are low, activities director Matt Torrens thinks they will be able to fundraise enough to get them through the year. After ASB was forced to pour money into the account for the class of 2017 last year, Torrens said he is now more careful and understanding of senior class finances.
For the incoming freshmen, a bank account for their class has been created that will be used until they graduate. Although they currently have a couple thousand dollars in it, freshman treasurer Emily Choi said others have told her it’s a good spot to be.
To increase their class budget, the freshman class plans to hold multiple fundraisers such as selling pearl milk tea every month, selling food at dances and asking for donations throughout the year. By the end of the year, Choi hopes to have at least $3,000 in their bank account.
Meanwhile, the sophomore class has around $6,000 in its bank account. Class treasurer George Bian attributes their success to their large class size.
“Thanks to our big class, we were able to raise over $1,000 during freshmen parent night and ASB donated $1,000 to all classes last year,” Bian said.
Even in their comfortable position, they are planning on fundraising often so that they can spend more on improving class events and save up for prom during their junior year.
The junior class is also in a strong financial position with $8,000, money that was earned through successful fundraisers such as the annual food truck fest and several Chipotle fundraisers. Equally impressive, they have already paid a deposit for a junior prom venue.
Class treasurer Samyu Iyer said juniors are in good shape to handle expenses such as Homecoming, which usually costs around $600, and prom and Homecoming make up most of the expenses for the year.
“We don’t spend like crazy, but we are going to be spending more this year on Homecoming because we are upperclassmen now and there are higher expectations,” Iyer said. “We should be able to spend a good amount but not go crazy so that we can have good quality stuff but still have money left over.”