For 19 years, Ninette Fenlason has served as the Messalonskee High School yearbook advisor
For 19 years, Ninette Fenlason has served as the Messalonskee High School staffer in charge of the yearbook and during her long tenure she has never, not once, needed money from the school budget to fund her enterprise.
But the challenge to continue that tradition began to grow increasingly harder. Production costs were soaring, far eclipsing the price ($45 for early orders, $50 maximum) charged students and other yearbook customers.
“It was going up closer to $80 [per yearbook] last year,” Fenlason said of the cost, “so I knew we had to do something.”
What Fenlason did is change production companies, switching from Jostens to Treering, a move that dropped the production cost per yearbook to $45.
That significant reduction means less pressure for Fenlason and student yearbook staff to canvass the local business community for advertising dollars to cover what was the growing gap between yearbook sale revenue and production costs.
In prior years, Fenlason said she needed to raise money from advertisements to enable the yearbook to be self-sufficient in covering its costs. She still pursues advertising dollars, but now the money can be used to buy equipment for yearbook staff and fund the expense of providing free yearbooks to needy students.
The switch to Treering also has other benefits. In the past, Fenlason said she would order a certain number of yearbooks from the publishing company. Once they were sold, no more yearbooks for that year’s production run could be ordered.
Not so with Treering.
“One thing about Treering,” Fenlason said, “is parents can order [copies of the yearbook] forever. Treering is unique that way.”
In addition, Treering has a more flexible production schedule than Jostens, which means the deadline to complete the yearbook can be extended to mid April, Fenlason said.
“Late for us [compared to prior years],” Fenlason said of the new deadline, “but it gives us the opportunity for the first time ever to include [this school year’s] spring sports.”
While that addition only encompasses the first few weeks of spring sports, Fenlason said simply getting part of the season in the yearbook is a plus – the yearbook, as is the tradition, will continue to have a full account of the previous school year’s spring sports as well.
So, yes, many changes for the yearbook this school year, but some constants remain: Fenlason is still in charge with her staff of about 12 students compiling once more a lasting record of the latest edition of Messalonskee High School.