From time to time, we share relevant conversations from our Balfour Advisers Facebook group. This post focuses on commission checks from portrait companies. Some comments have been edited for space and grammar.
Commission checks can be a financial lifeline for yearbook staffs. But not every program receives their checks. For those unfamiliar with this practice, portrait companies often provide a commission check to schools, a percentage of sales from underclassmen and senior portraits. The percentage can vary, depending on the contract with the school or district.
This financial perk helps yearbook staffs cover the costs of their books, especially the numerous pages needed to run the school portraits. Many advisers feel the yearbook deserves the commission checks because of the enormous amount of work and planning involved in organizing Picture Day.
Recently, an adviser posed the commission check question to the Balfour Advisers Facebook group. Of 36 responses, half the advisers said the yearbook program keeps all the money and five split the proceeds with the school. Thirteen advisers said their programs receive none of the funding, with the commissions going to a principal’s fund or another school fund. Here are some of their responses to the commission check question.
“It is considered a fundraiser for the yearbook staff, so my program gets it. We help out and run portraits and do all of the leg work, so I would throw a real fit if I didn’t get to keep it.” –Kelsey Martin, McAllen Memorial High School
“We do the work for it and it goes to our yearbook fund.” –Kate McNeely, Wimberley High School
“I don’t get to keep it. I did at my previous school though. I’m not sure how those decisions are made.” –Hayley Booth, Dickinson High School
“I do all the work, but our half goes to a faculty fund—maybe towards scholarships, which is why I don't complain (too much). [The] junior high gets half because they also take pictures that day, although I'm there for that, too.” –Stacie Decker-Robles, Denver City High School
“It does not go to yearbook at our school.” –Jade Joseph, Princeton High School “Principal, but I had them add to the contract that upon every renewal they buy us a new camera.” –Jerry Fordyce, Tomball High School
“We keep it in the yearbook fund, but my principal does ask for non-yearbook things to be paid from the yearbook funds sometimes.” –Holly Hartman, Memorial High School
“We usually do all to yearbook, but have been asked to split it between the two before.” –Kylee Maarschalk, New Hanover High School
“The PROGRAM! We do the organizing and ALL of the work so we keep the money.” –Susanna Jakubik, Ridge Point High School
“To my program.” –Whitney Bumgarner, R.B. Stall High School
“When I got here they had been going to the principal’s fund. I nipped that quickly, so now [the checks are] delivered to me and I put them in our account!” –Katie Dean, Robert E. Lee High School
“Underclass goes to principal’s fund and senior goes to yearbook.” –Stephanie Russo, Suncoast High School
“Our yearbook account gets it for school pics. Spring pic commissions go to each campus.” –Carla Gardner, East Chambers High School
“Program!!!” –Marilyn Othon, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
“We typically split with the general fund, but if Yearbook needs more money in a certain year I’ve asked to keep additional [money] and have always received it.” –Holly Whitehead, Heritage High School
“Didn’t know this was a thing. I will have a meeting to discuss why and how to change it very soon! Eight years as adviser and when I got here yearbook was way in debt and we dug it out to the black and still no one mentioned commissions from school pictures! I organize them and run Picture Day so I will be asking some questions.” –Kishia Locke, Hewitt-Trussville High School
“The yearbook received the commissions for both schools I advised at. At my second school, our district CTE director questioned this practice. I walked through all the work we did to organize Picture Day, advertise it and deliver the pictures. But the argument that really swayed her was when I explained how much it cost to have the portrait pages in the book. For us, it was more than 50 pages so quite a chunk of change. From then on, she silenced any administrator’s requests to take the money.” –Kel Lemons, Balfour’s Key Accounts & Education Manager
“Nope, we get to keep it all.” –Melissa Bratcher, Ropes High School
“Ours goes to the principal's discretionary fund.” –Kyla Scelzi, Davidson Middle School
“Principal’s fund.” –Bridget Robinson, Clear Creek High School
“I spend hours on Picture Days. For the underclass, it's getting things sorted by social studies teachers, distributing all the flyers and order forms and then taking my classes to the auditorium every hour to help coordinate the lines. Plus, staffers miss a class to be over there. Then when the pictures and IDs come in, we have to hand them out separately because they come separately. For the seniors, we schedule all those who missed their appointment over the summer. This year, it was more than 300 out of the 500 seniors. We have someone in the auditorium while they're being photographed and then we mail a letter home to those seniors who still haven't taken their picture. I'd say we earn our money and then some.” –Denise Adams, B.F. Terry High School
“Principal’s fund.” –Nola Henderson, Jefferson County High School
“Straight to yearbook.” –Sarah Ellison, Oak Ridge High School
“We get it! We run Picture Day so it comes to yearbook.” –Robin Schwartz, Bay City High School
“Yearbook keeps the underclass, senior class gets the seniors. But we do all the organizing for both.” –Katherine Mayse, Clear Brook High School
“My program keeps the senior commission but the other goes to the admin find. However, I don’t have to organize anything but seniors so honestly, they can have that money.” –Samantha Berry, Bridgeland High School
“Those [commission checks] help pay for my book.” –Matt MacVeigh, Allen High School
“My school keeps underclass, but we get everything else…In our district, we have to go out for bid every three years. It's a formal process. The companies compete heavily and offer lots of perks for their business.” –Teresa Zemaitis, Dixie Hollins High School
“We do the work, we get the money.” –Deborah Mayer, Maclay School
“Yearbook. Some years I do give the spring picture commission to the individual campuses. We are totally self-funded—no money from the district—so I would hurt someone that tried to take the commission from us.” –Kristi Gardner, Anson High School
“Principal's fund—we are completely self-funded, and we usually don't see a dime of the commission. One of the many reasons why my YERDS rock—we sell the heck out of senior ads and a few community ads as well as fundraise throughout the year. We still manage to pay our publisher and have a little left over for incidentals.” –Caron Peck, Riverdale High School
Not a member of our Facebook group? The Balfour Adviser group is a community of almost 1,000 advisers who share ideas, photos and lesson plans. If you’re a Balfour adviser and would like to participate, please go to Balfour Advisers Facebook page and request to join.
