As the 2024-25 school year comes to an end, juniors and seniors begin to look forward to all the fun things that come with the end of the school year. For some, that may be the nicer weather and spring sports, but for many, prom is the event students look forward to. However, in order for prom to be a success, it requires substantial work from Pleasant Valley’s Social Committee and PTA.
From mid-March to May during prom season, Social Committee meets every Thursday during eighth period in order to get all the necessary tasks completed for prom. This ranges from choosing a theme, ordering flowers and decorations and booking the venue. “These past 4 years in social committee have been so fun! I especially love setting up for the dance. Everyone is so excited, and it’s cool to see all of our hard work finally pay off”, noted Social Committee Co-Executive Addie Judd.
But while Social Committee is calculating the numbers for how much decorations and flowers are going to cost, students not involved in the club are budgeting in order to have a memorable night. Whether this be deciding a budget for their dresses or suits, the money is being calculated in order to stay within a respectable budget for many families.
For the female students, pieces such as the dress, shoes, jewelry and flowers can cost hundreds to potential thousands of dollars for these students and their families. For the male students, the price of prom is just as much of a burden as it is for female students including purchasing items such as suits or tuxedos.
As prices continue to rise around the country, students are getting progressively more strategic about saving money when it comes to school dance costs. The same thing can be said about Social Committee.
“Social committee has been working really hard to make sure the dance is still fun while maintaining a reasonable budget. We take input from everyone in the club about theme ideas and decorations,” explained Co-Executive Becca Hahm. So while the quality of the dance won’t be any different, the amount of items throughout the prom location will be more intentional and impactful for making the dance a memorable night for juniors and seniors.
For those looking to purchase formal dresses, the tariffs being placed on foreign items causes even more trouble for these families. For example, in early March 2025, President Donald Trump implemented a 20% tariff on items from China, the country where nearly 50% of prom dresses and formal dresses such as wedding dresses come from.
“After two years of shopping for prom dresses the price increase is discouraging. Going dress shopping has not only become more difficult but also time consuming. With limited sizes and increased prices there are only a few reasonable options for many of us to choose from”, says Hahm after shopping for a prom dress..
While juniors and seniors look forward to prom in the spring, prices continue to rise and so does the financial burden that school dances can have on young teenagers and their families.
