Homecoming Savings A Hot Topic For Student Leaders

Replacing ritzy homecoming and prom ballrooms with the school cafeteria could be a hard sell for those who have never tried it.

Student government leaders from Hillsborough County's 25 high schools meet Thursday morning to talk about that option.

Planning for 2009-10 begins now, so it's decision time.

"It's too late for seniors, but we've asked them to talk to underclassmen about how they can make it less expensive," said Lewis Brinson, the district's assistant superintendent for administration.

Brinson said he has already talked to principals, and they are interested. Not only does it save money, but, "administrators have more control" over what happens on school property than at a private venue.

Some high schools put the brakes on spending for this year as the economy tanked and ticket prices soared to as much as $65 at some schools as the price of a homecoming dance grew to $60,000 or more.

Freedom High cut its ticket prices from $50 to $40 by renting a less expensive venue. Jefferson High students cut their $45 ticket in half by staying on campus. Many said they liked their own jungle-theme decorations in the school cafeteria better than last year's rented room at Raymond James Stadium.

Gaither High students also stayed home for the first time, hiring a graduate who is a professional decorator to drape the walls with fabric and rent a searchlight for the parking lot, cubes for the floor and cylinders to hang from the ceiling that changed the color of the room. Students paid $25, saving $15 compared with last year, assistant principal Henry Strapp said.

"They were flabbergasted; they absolutely loved it," Strapp said. "We're home for good."

Thursday's student government meeting will be at Brandon High, where students have decorated the school for homecoming with elaborate themes for decades.

This year's theme was Cirque du Soleil and included costumed dancers, acrobats, a dragon, a cave, a working waterfall, a volcano, a fire pit, chairs suspended from the ceiling and an array of music that transformed the school.