By Olivia Lang ’15 | News Editor

With an estimated $10,000 to raise and Prom only seven months away, the senior class will be organizing fundraisers to reach their goal, Class of 2014 Adviser Carrie Halliburton said.

“Generally, any class is going to spend $30,000 to $40,000 on Prom because you’re planning for at least 400 people, if not more,” said Halliburton. “You’re going to get back at least half of that if not more from your ticket sales, so most classes are left to raise about $10,000 for Prom, which is normal. Every class faces that.”

Although the numbers have not been finalized, Halliburton said the senior class student council is planning on Prom costing $32,000, Halliburton said. The class expects to sell at least 400 tickets at $50 per ticket which would cover about two-thirds of the total cost of Prom. Halliburton predicts the class has about $10,000 left to raise.

The senior class student council will organize both the Mackinac Island wreath sale and Dancing with the South Stars (DWTSS) again like they have in the past, Halliburton and Senior Class President Kimberly Barbour said. Although last year the class did not receive very much money from DTWSS due to the profits being distributed between Beaumont and all four classes.

“Half (of the money from DWTSS) went to Beaumont, and the other half was split between four councils, so we didn’t end up with much in our council in the end,” said Barbour. “(This year’s distribution) depends on which classes get involved. But if we need to, we might be getting more of the profits, mostly because it is Ms. Halliburton’s event, and so our class does most of the work for it anyway.”

Some fundraisers are inherited by the senior class each year, Halliburton said. These fundraisers include selling the senior spirit photos and yard signs, in addition to the compatibility surveys done around Valentine’s Day. Seniors are also seeking funds from car washes as well. The first car wash took place Sunday, Oct. 6 and the class plans to have another on Sunday, Oct. 20.

“With the fundraisers we have planned this year and the things that we are working on, I think we’ll be okay. I’m not really worried at this point,” said Halliburton. “There are some other ideas in the works at this time that are both new and old fundraisers that classes have done.”

Another opportunity for the senior class to raise money is through the dance they organize, Barbour said. In past years, there have been two dances other than Homecoming, the Glowout and Sadie Hawkins, and the combined revenue from these dances is split among all four classes. This year, the seniors and freshmen will organize Sadie’s, but they are not certain whether they will keep the same theme.

“We are not positive right now (whether or not to keep the Sadie Hawkins theme). We might take a poll or vote to see what would be most attended,” said Barbour.

Nevertheless, a class will only receive approximately $1,000 from a dance, said Jenna Kuess, former class of 2013 and current class of 2017 adviser. Although last year, the 1920s themed Sadie Hawkins’ dance was canceled as a result of low ticket sales, so the money each class earned was even less.

At the start of their senior year, Kuess said the class of 2013 had already fundraised enough money to hold Prom in May.

“We (the class of 2013 council) asked when we were freshmen how much we would need by the time we were seniors, and we just made sure we had that in our account,” said Kuess. “The work we did over the previous three years, managing our money, and just keeping track of what we were doing and knowing how much we needed for Prom (was the key to having enough money).”

Prom is not paid for all at one time, said Halliburton, which makes paying for the event much easier. The senior class has already begun paying for some parts of Prom.

“You start paying at the end of your junior year, so it’s not like you have to pay it all at the end of your senior year,” said Halliburton. “It’s chunked up throughout the year so that makes it a little bit easier.”

Both Halliburton and Barbour said they believe there is a zero percent chance of Prom not happening this year. It will require hard work, but both are certain the Senior class will be able to celebrate their years spent at South at Prom as planned.

“I don’t want the perception out there that they’re in trouble and they’re not going to make it because they’re not (in trouble). They’re doing fine. We’ve got it. Every class has to raise money, some classes more than others,” said Halliburton. “But we would still like support. The more money we can raise the bigger add on stuff we can do.”