Local News in Brief : Prom De-Escalation Plan

A proposal to make the senior prom less flashy--and much less expensive--has been approved by a committee of the Los Angeles Board of Education.

In the last few years, expenses associated with the traditional graduation dance have skyrocketed. Ticket prices for a couple range from $70 to $110, according to a recent district survey. Add to that the cost of dresses, tuxedos, flowers, photographs, limousine rentals and after-prom activities, and the total can approach $1,000.

“It doesn’t matter if it is in the poorest area of the school district or the richest area. . . ,” said East San Fernando Valley representative Roberta Weintraub. “There doesn’t seem to be any limit on how much is spent on the prom.”

Parental complaints about the costs led Weintraub to introduce the resolution, co-sponsored by board President Rita Walters, which would require seven district high schools to establish student committees to develop ideas on how to reduce prom costs. The teen-agers will also be asked to identify activities, such as a rock concert, that could replace the off-campus dance.

But for the most part, Weintraub acknowledged, students are opposed to the prom alternative measure, which will come before the full school board June 27.