In my earliest days at Boothbay Region High School as a ninth grader in 2022, my classmates and I were told we had to raise roughly $14,000, which is the same amount in 2024. Only now at the end of my sophomore year after seeking the information, have I been informed what this money goes towards, and it is clear that a small group of students, including myself, will feel the weight of raising this money. This is not the case for other high schools in our region, such as Wiscasset High School, who do not have to fundraise for graduation. I hope to correct the lack of communication given to students surrounding the responsibility to fundraise for graduation and propose that participating in at least one school fundraiser should be a graduation requirement. 

Shown in a graduation document from 2023 that the BRHS front office can provide, the breakdown of the approximate $14,000 is as follows: $60 baton; $2,202 for diplomas and caps and gowns, $3,700 for renting chairs and tents, $6,293 for the banners hung at the Boothbay Circle, and $1,800 for Grand March tuxedos. However, only in their senior year do students learn that the larger expenses are, in fact, optional. 

Students are not required to have an outside graduation, a tradition that began with COVID. If the graduation ceremony were held inside, there would be no need for chair and tent rentals. Similarly, the senior banners displayed proudly at the Boothbay circle are not required. They were introduced by Dr. Campbell, Principal of BRHS, for the class of 2020: “The banners are something I came up with to try and celebrate the class [COVID class 2020]  and do something special,” said Campbell. “They are an expensive addition but it has become a very special way to celebrate with the community.” There is no doubt that the banners have become a much-loved way to celebrate Boothbay’s graduates with the community, but the weight of precedent and tradition, along with the cost, rests upon the shoulders of the students. Since the $6,000 banners were first introduced, every subsequent class has followed suit. The banners may be an optional addition, but who would wish to break the tradition and let down the community? 

Fundraising has always been BRHS’s approach to covering the cost of graduation. But in recent years that cost has risen exponentially: “The average cost for a [graduation] before COVID was roughly $3,000” (Dean of Students Allan Crocker). Today’s cost is roughly  $14,000. Such an increase causes a greater need for fundraising, which students must organize. There are many approaches and options for each class to take, but opportunities are rarely presented to students until their senior year. This must change. 

Despite the lack of communication, we should not stop students from fundraising which teaches beneficial life skills such as organization, goal setting, leadership, and time management. Colby Allen, this year's Student Body President, stated, “I am a big fan of the fundraising that goes on because I think it teaches a lot of life skills for the young adults in the high school going onto the next steps of their secondary education or their workforce career.” However, how many of our students are learning these skills? The truth is that a small percentage of the student body often takes on the challenge of all their class fundraising, a fact that is highlighted in the Boothbay Register article “Graduation Costs for Students” by Rachel Barter, BRHS Class of 2023. Little has changed. In a June 2024 survey, students and staff were asked if they thought the same group of students often found themselves responsible for fundraising. Out of 43 responses, 72.1% responded “yes.” While this small group of students may be leaders by choice, this responsibility should not be theirs alone.  

There is a quick and easy fix to the communication problem and the need for more general student involvement. At the beginning of each school year, the ninth-graders should have all their financial obligations and options for graduation explained to them by the BRHS Administration, Student Body President, and Senior Student Council members. It should also become a graduation requirement to help class leaders organize and manage at least one fundraiser which would require a class advisor's signature affirming participation. 

I urge the community and school to consider and welcome these changes. They would benefit every student, teaching them responsibility, leadership, and more. It is the BRHS Administration’s responsibility to provide our students with the knowledge and ability to flourish in life, and making these changes will help them do so.