With Homecoming just around the corner, ASB has been hard at work these first weeks of school. In the case of this particular school-wide event, there’s always one question—how much is it going to cost?

Homecoming expenses have to cover the wide range of activities that ASB puts on, including daily lunchtime games, the pep rally, the football halftime show, and the homecoming dance.

In honor of the school’s 10 year anniversary, ASB has decided to put full effort into making school activities, like Homecoming, bigger and better.

“[Homecoming] I think just kind of sets the tone and hypes the kids up for a great school year,” explained activities advisor Brooke Valderrama. This year’s events will include some of the same great ideas of past years with new or bigger twists.

Among these twists will include more fireworks at the game and a brand new approach to the halftime show.

“For the halftime show we’re going completely lights out. We have an effects company, and they’re doing all the laser lighting and spotlights,” Valderrama said. “It’s gonna be a cool show, I’m excited about it.”

However, turning off all the lights in the Badlands and lighting it up with lasers, spotlights, and effects is no easy task. It’s a service that ultimately costs $9,350 to complete. The show’s effects and lighting will be accomplished by N-Effect Productions, a Southern California based entertainment company, that will supply the stadium with all the effects needed to complete ASB’s vision.

In addition to the lighting, ASB has set aside $2,000 for props, costumes and production expenses for the halftime show itself and another additional $2,500 for the fireworks. Altogether, the homecoming game will cost just under $15,000 when the budget of each class’s performance attire is added.

“It’s gonna be awesome,” commented Macey Bergstrom, ASB president.

The homecoming dance will be costly as well with features including a professional DJ, lounge, photo booth, and ice cream truck. In an inclusive summary of all its aspects, the dance itself will cost just about $21,070–roughly the same as the cost of last year’s dance.

Last year, ASB’s homecoming costs totaled a number close to $26,000 for the dance and game combined. This year it totalled roughly $10,000 more with the new additions of the laser light show and other accents of the dance, it totalled just over $36,000.

Valderrama recognized that these numbers may seem large and said that it would be cheaper or easier “if we did what we did every other year and left the lights on for the halftime show, but that’s not what [we] wanted.” Still, no money should be lost this year as last year’s ticket sales raised a total close to $39,000–enough to completely cover this year’s increased expenditures.

SJHHS’ 10 year anniversary makes this year unlike any other, and ASB is planning Homecoming with that spirit in mind.