AREA SCHOOL POLICIES FOR SENIOR PICTURES MIXED

Policies concerning senior pictures for yearbooks are mixed at area schools.

Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Delta and Jackson have strict policies about which photography studios can take yearbook photos.

Scott City, Sikeston, Notre Dame and Oak Ridge have more flexible policies.

Cape Girardeau's policy of awarding a contract to one photographer to provide all senior pictures for the yearbook was questioned at the Board of Education meeting earlier this month.

Board President Pat Ruopp said the board discussed the issue in closed session following the regular June meeting.

"We discussed different aspects of the present policy and the contract," he said.

The discussion was held in closed session "because it is a contractual agreement between the school district and photographer," Ruopp said.

At the July 9 school board meeting, the board is scheduled to announce its position or any decisions it has made, Ruopp said.

Cape Girardeau

Cape Girardeau's yearbook adviser, Liz Lockhart, said the contract system provides benefits to students and the school.

The policy was approved by the Board of Education and is official school policy. "The bid process is open to everybody and the previous year's bids are open to anyone."

Cape Girardeau Central has in excess of 300 seniors each year.

"Any student can get into our yearbook cost free," she said. "That is one of the primary reasons why I first sought bids in the 1970s."

In addition, she said, the contract specifies that the contract photographer guarantee prices for three photo packages for the two-year term of the contract.

"Students know before they go to have their picture made of at least three packages at a pre-stated price. They can choose anything else, if they want. But they know some prices up front."

Lockhart said this pre-pricing practice helps hold down prices at other studios. "They have to be somewhat in line to remain competitive.

"I want the kids to be able to have a free photo for the yearbook and to know it will get to school on time and be usable," she said.

The contract takes the responsibility of coming up with a suitable photograph away from the student.

"The contract photographer guarantees the photo will be a usable and suitable photo. The yearbook staff doesn't have to judge each photo."

She said dealing with one photographer also makes it easier to determine which photographs have not yet been taken.

"If I was dealing with 12 photographers, some of whom I would not have any way of knowing were taking senior pictures, when would I know I had all their pictures?"

Sikeston

Sikeston High School Principal Steve Borgsmiller said the school has a flexible policy for senior portraits.

Students may turn in a photograph from any photographer they choose, or they may use a photograph taken by the school's contract photographer.

"Probably half the class has their own personal picture," Borgsmiller said. "The others use the pictures from the school photographer."

The contract photographer, Hal Wagner of Flat River, takes photographs of all the Sikeston students.

"Kids can choose," Borgsmiller said. "Some go up to Cape. Some stay here in Sikeston. Some go over to Dexter. Some go to Paducah.

"Kids take a lot of pride in their senior pictures. They take a lot of pride in what those pictures look like. It's not something they take lightly."

He said the school requests formal portraits with a similar background.

"But the pictures are different. They are individualized."

Borgsmiller said the biggest problem the yearbook faces is a few students each year don't turn in any photograph.

"The system works for us," Borgsmiller said. "I can't say it's 100 percent perfect, but it gives the people freedom of choice.

"Every kid and every family have different choices and preferences for what they want."

Jackson

Jackson High School Principal Vernon Huck said the school's yearbook has two designated photographers. Including the graduation insert, the yearbook totals 222 pages.

"Students can have their sitting at either Jackson studio and there is no charge for the sittings," Huck said.

Senior pictures made by Jackson Studios or Hutchins Studios are the only ones used in the yearbook.

"This way, the photographs are all the same size, the same background, the same head size and so on," Huck said.

He added that the policy is an arrangement with the studios, not a contract.

Perryville

Dan Steska, Perryville High School principal, said the school contracts with one photographer for all senior pictures in the yearbook. The book has 148 pages this year.

He said students select that photographer based on bids.

"The class officers look at bids, which I solicit from various photographers," Steska said. "They look at service, quality and cost. We sign a contract with that photographer."

He said students may have their senior pictures taken by other photographers, but all the yearbook pictures come from that contract photographer.

There is no sitting fee for the yearbook photo.

In return, the contract photographer provides the school with film and a camera to use for the yearbook.

LaRose Studio in Perryville was the school's contract photographer this year.

Steska said: "The process is a lot more efficient. The larger the school, the more difficult it is trying to get photographs in when you are dealing with 200 or 300 students.

"And when you have a variety of studios, you get a variety of different sized pictures and it really gets to be kind of a mess."

With a single photographer, Steska said, all the photographs have a standard format and the same background.

He said the only exception are students who transfer to the school late in the year and have already had their senior pictures made somewhere else. Those pictures can be submitted to the yearbook. "But we have very few in that situation," Steska said.

Scott City

High school seniors at Scott City get their senior pictures taken at a photographer of their choice, and submit a photograph to the school for use in the yearbook, said High School Principal Fred Graham.

Graham, who has been with the school for more than eight years, said the policy has been in effect for years.

"It's never really presented a problem and the yearbook pictures seem to be pretty uniform," he said.

Graham said the yearbook is supervised by teacher June Swift, who also serves as adviser for the school newspaper.

The 1990 edition of the yearbook had 174 pages, while the 1989 edition had 191 pages.

Graham said if a student can't afford to have senior pictures taken by a professional photographer, the student may have them taken for the yearbook by a school photographer at no cost.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame High School yearbook adviser Carleen Johns said the school contracts with a professional photographer to provide senior pictures and photographs of school activities for the yearbook. This year's publication was 168 pages.

Hutchings Photography in Jackson had the contract this past school year and also has the contract for the coming school year.

Johns said the contract does not explicitly preclude other photographers' pictures from being used in the yearbook.

"If a student really doesn't want the photograph used, we will use whatever photo they want," she said.

She estimated that four or five students of 55 seniors last year had pictures from a photographer other than the contract photographer in the yearbook.

"We contract with a photographer more for the activities," Johns said. "The contract has three pages of activities the photographer must shoot. In return, he has an opportunity to take photos at dances."

Notre Dame students paste up their own yearbook, which provides them with more flexibility, Johns said. "And we're a small enough school that I know every student. If I don't have a picture I can go to that student and ask for one.

"At a larger school I don't think that would be possible," she said.

Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge Superintendent Roger Tatum said the school contracts with a photographer for senior pictures in the yearbook. This year's book is 148 pages.

But he said exceptions are made for students who would like a different picture used.

For the 1990-91 school year, the contract photographer was Don Bess Studios of Flat River.

A former yearbook adviser, Tatum said, "We want one senior photographer, and it really doesn't matter who, to do the senior portraits for the yearbook. We are looking for uniformity in the yearbook."

He said portraits from other photographers will be used provided they look similar to the other photographs in the book.

"What we want is uniformity. A lot of senior pictures have the student's dog or car in it. That's basically why we want one studio to do the yearbook pictures."

Delta

Delta High School Principal Paul Kitchen said the school has a "working agreement" with Cheekwood Studio in Cape Girardeau.

"We do require that the photograph seniors get to go into the yearbook come from Cheekwood," Kitchen said.

"They can get anything else they want anywhere they want, but the yearbook picture must come from him."

No exceptions are made, Kitchen said.

"When the juniors left for the summer, we gave them a written sheet so they understand the policy. It will be made available again in the fall."

"The real reason it's done that way is because he does such a great job of working with us," Kitchen said. "He makes himself available when, as a school, we need him.

"I doubt someone could come down here and undercut him on price, but our total dollar package is not enough to fool with. A 20 percent difference is not that much difference. We're looking for service and we've received super service from Cheekwood."

Delta's yearbook is 165 pages. "For a little bitty school, we have a real nice yearbook," Kitchen said.

Some information for this story was provided by staff writer Julie Bollman.