Parents Encouraged to Curtail Excessive Spending for School Dances

Posted 11/26/03

     The Jordan School District Board of Education and administration recognize the value and importance of school-sponsored activities. The formation of friendships and social interactions with others are an integral part of the high school experience.

     There is growing concern, however, that student-initiated activities surrounding school-sponsored events, such as dances, are placing unnecessary financial pressures on students and their families. This may be reducing the number of students who feel they can participate in school dances.

     The Jordan School District Board of Education and administration support school-sponsored activities, including dances, but do not endorse the excessive spending by students and their families to participate in what has become, in many instances, traditional daylong and week-long events associated with school dances. Examples of this include elaborate, costly plans for asking individuals to attend the dance, limousines, extravagant dinners, and multiple activities before and after the dance itself.

     The Board of Education and administration strongly encourage parents and students to curtail excessive spending for formal school dances. Individual, student-initiated expenditures should not be viewed as so excessive that they deter students from wanting or being able to participate in school dances.