Parents Of High School Seniors Going All Out For All-Nighters

The things some parents will do to make sure their high school seniors have a safe, fun graduation night.

At high schools around the Valley, groups of parents are putting in hundreds of hours, working to raise thousands of dollars for the senior all-nighter parties.

The no-alcohol events, scheduled usually from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. on graduation night in June have become big productions.

Three of the four high schools in the Valley are hoping to raise $20,000 each to put theirs on.

“I’m not saying we’re going to get $20,000,” said Wende Barker, East Valley High School parent organizer. “But that’s what you hope.”

Attractions at the parties will range from a Velcro wall, to race cars, to gifts like radios, camping gear, casinos, raffles of prizes and cash - and always, lots and lots of food.

Central Valley High School parent coordinator Janice Page estimates about 115 parents are working on various committees for the CV all-nighter. Central Valley also has the largest senior class, almost 400 students.

Not every student starts out thinking the all-nighter is a cool thing. But once they’re there, they have fun.

“Two years ago, a kid was talked into going by her parents. And they gave her a beeper. She was supposed to beep when whe wanted to come home. She didn’t call and didn’t call,” Barker said. “So finally, the parents called her. She said, ‘I don’t have time to talk. They’re about to raffle off the prizes.”’

In this business, a good fund-raising idea is like gold. And some unusual ones have developed and been handed down, over the years. Consider this:

About 50 University High School parents were up bright and early this morning, doing inventory for a heavy equipment dealer in Spokane. They’ll earn $5 an hour each, counting nuts, bolts, engine parts, heavy equipment parts for Western States Equipment.

“We’ll be there from 6:45 in the morning until noon. We’re just grateful that they let us do it,” said Karen Groce, parent leader of U-Hi’s all-nighter committee. “They told us it’s cold in there and to wear our grubbies. The things we do for our kids.”

East Valley parents are holding a fund-raising dinner and auction on March 15. Everything from a ton of hay to Spokane Symphony Orchestra tickets and dinner at the Mustard Seed, to a professional three-stage lawn spray treatment will be sold.

Central Valley parents are raising money this weekend, along with the CV band boosters, through an arts and crafts sale in the CV multi-purpose room and gym. The sale will be open today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

But Central Valley’s big fund-raiser each year is the Strandberg Invitational Track Meet in May. The parents all-nighter committee expects to raise about $10,000, Page said.

West Valley High School all-nighter organizers count on a Halloween Haunted House as their major fund-raiser. Proceeds were down some this year, said parent organizer Angie Hughes, partly as a result of using a new location.

Hughes and her crew of volunteers haven’t yet set their overall budget. But they have nailed down a Lake Coeur d’Alene cruise as part of the evening’s fun.

Tickets for the all-nighters, mostly pre-paid, range from $10 to $75, depending on when parents or student buy the tickets.

As the costs rise for the big parties, some people question the expense.

“We’ve heard these things are getting a little out of hand,” said Hughes.

“Some people think we should pull back,” Bartlett said. “But how do you stop a fast train? Everybody expects this now.”

Besides, it is the last time the seniors will be altogether until their 10-year reunion.

, DataTimes