Post-pandemic woes: Yearbook, ASB face funding issues

Due to low sales during the pandemic, some school programs have experienced major funding problems, such as yearbook’s $20,000 projected deficit this year.

When journalism adviser Michael Tyler returned from his summer break in early August, he was surprised to learn that yearbook prices had not been increased, despite believing the administration had agreed to do so after a $10,000 deficit accrued because of poor sales during the online year.

This year, the lack of a price increase and continued slow sales have pushed the yearbook program’s projected debt to Walsworth Publishing Company to $20,000.

The total cost of printing the book is expected to be $105,000 after shipping and sales tax are added in. To break even, the school would have needed to charge $117 per book based on sales of 900 books, he said.

The price of the book — $100 for copies bought before Dec. 1 — has remained the same as it has been for the past 10 years, despite rising inflation and costs of printing the yearbook at Walsworth.

“Right away, we were behind at the start of the school year,” Tyler said.

Sales also dropped during the pandemic, from an average of 1,100 books sold in a normal year to around 800 books sold last year. According to Tyler, if pricing doesn’t increase, the yearbook staff may be left in a “catch-22” situation each year: In order to decrease the price of the book, the staff must shorten the yearbook from its typical 300 pages to 200-250 pages. On the other hand, those cuts might not be popular and could also hurt sales.

As a result, Tyler thinks that the only real solution to the yearbook deficit is to increase the price “right out of the gate” — charging $120 before the annual early purchase deadline of Dec. 1. He feels that this price increase would not drive away most students who currently already buy the yearbook.

Additionally, Tyler decided to have a 36-page senior magazine this spring instead of the typical 48-page annual magazine mainly due to the high costs of printing it.

The yearbook program is not alone in its financial struggles. The ASB has had issues raising funds after last year’s mostly online school year.

Junior ASB treasurer Anand Agrawal said the Class of 2022 didn’t have the chance to do the ordinary fundraisers that would have stocked their bank account for events like prom.

ASB package sales also dropped drastically during the pandemic, continuing a downward trend over recent years; they sold 1080 cards from 2017-18, 980 from 2018-19, 771 from 2019-20 and 326 sales during the fully online 2020-21 school year. Sales partially rebounded this year, with 636 packages sold at the cost of $159 each; however, much like yearbook sales, ASB package sales have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

With less money than usual, ASB had to apply for a grant from the Saratoga Foundation to cover the $35,000 cost of new bleachers for quad activities.

Agrawal encourages students and parents to help support the ASB with donations.

“ASB is the main organization that funds school-wide activities and items, and the ASB package is the main source of income for the ASB,” Agarwal said. “Decreasing sales means a decrease in funding for school-wide activities and items, and I hope that more people can buy class merchandise and the ASB class package, especially since it pays itself off so quickly.”

According to senior class vice president Kaylie Wong, the senior class office’s financial problems stem from two especially tough years, where the class office received much fewer parent donations during online Parents Nights. Though the class office has a much lower budget — $6,000 compared to a typical budget of $20,000-25,000 after paying the down payment for prom —, Wong said that the class budget is “not stretched thin.”

“Normally, in person, [the class office] would give a presentation on why parents should donate, and it made them more inclined to donate,” Wong said. “However, online, a lot of parents weren’t paying attention and had to pay online through the SHS website [instead of writing a check], so it makes it more difficult for parents to donate.”

Additionally the senior class office has held small fundraisers this year — like selling roses at the recent Bombay in the Bay show and holding a mask fundraiser — in order to help increase its budget.

“The senior class office is not in an ideal situation [monetarily],” Wong said. “I hope that once Parent Night returns as an in-person event, funds will start coming in easier for future class offices.”