District 94 leadership has capped prom ticket prices at $100 beginning next school year, a move that narrows venue options and shifts WEGO’s long-standing downtown prom tradition.
Since downtown venues historically require higher ticket prices, the cap likely eliminates those options moving forward. The school will look at alternative locations and plans for prom in the 2026-2027 school year.
In past years, upperclassmen have traveled to the city to dance at Navy Pier, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and even the Shedd Aquarium. The tickets included transportation on coach buses, small party favors, and dining, leading ticket costs to around $160 to $170.
“Beginning next school year, prom ticket costs are going to be capped at $100 each, which is pretty significantly different from $160. That decision was made by members of the D94 district leadership team. There is a lot of people on it. The names that you guys would probably know are our superintendent, Dr. Johansen, and then your new principal, Dr. Pueyo,” Activities Director Dave Jennings said at a Student Council meeting held the morning of Feb. 13 in the Social Studies Hub.
Concerns regarding the costs of prom were based on factors including increased transportation expenses, which have gone up significantly in the years following COVID.
“The cost of transportation, which has been a big part of taking you guys downtown, has more than doubled. It’s gone up a crazy amount in only five years, and that’s impacted the cost of prom overall,” Jennings said.
Additionally, administration took a look at other local Illinois schools and compared prom numbers and prices, as well as the economic state of students and families at WEGO.
In an emailed statement to the Wildcat Chronicle, Dr. Limaris Pueyo, principal of West Chicago Community High School, said the $100 price cap was an administrative decision communicated to Student Council sponsors in late January.
“The $100 price cap was an administrative decision that was communicated to the Student Council sponsors in late January,” Pueyo said. “This amount was selected to align with what other schools in DuPage County and in our Upstate Eight Conference charge for prom. We surveyed the 14 schools in the Upstate Eight; the majority charge less than $100.”
Pueyo also cited rising costs and district demographics as factors in the decision.
“The cost of prom has increased by 30% over the past five years—discussions at the administrative level about the price increases date back several school years,” Pueyo said via email. “The rising costs of prom place an unnecessary financial burden on many needy families. The district does not want to shift those costs onto our families, given our current low-income enrollment rate of 54% and our homeless population of 8% (approximately three times the state average).”
Her explanation aligned with comments Jennings made during the Feb. 13 meeting about how WEGO’s ticket price compares to other Upstate Eight schools.
“We’re the most expensive prom ticket in the Upstate Eight. Most of the upstate schools are between $75 and $100. The flip side of that is, we are the only school in the upstate that does a downtown destination prom,” Jennings said. “The other reality that I think went into some of the thinking behind this is the plain and simple fact that a lot of families in West Chicago are struggling right now financially. We have triple the rate of homelessness or students with uncertain housing than the state of Illinois. If we have families that are struggling financially, we need to figure out ways to make the things we offer to students more accessible to all students.”
Conversation around timing and possible “after-proms” occurred, with mentions about prom starting later and ending earlier because of the hours of banquet halls, but with additional activities after the dance that students could pay for.
“So prom now is from five to midnight. It will be from six to ten, most likely, with you driving yourself there,” Student Council adviser Jen Culbertson said.
Jennings explained that admin hopes to help more students attend prom without a financial burden being put on them and their guardians, although attendance numbers for prom have been high in recent years.
“If the hope is that more students are going to go to prom, [we brought] north of 647 kids to prom [last year], which was 65% of our junior/senior class, which is bigger than a lot of other local schools that bring in 30, 40% of their kids,” Student Council adviser Candace Fikis said.
The data highlights a tension in the decision: while district leaders cited affordability and equity concerns, WEGO’s prom attendance has historically outpaced many neighboring schools.
Student Council members questioned how they would find a banquet hall big enough to host all attendees, and senior Jessie Myers asked if there was any concern that moving locations might actually decrease numbers.
“We need to be really intentional about figuring out what our next place looks like and picking something that’s big enough for us, close enough to us, that’s not putting an undue burden on you to have to drive somewhere, but also hopefully somewhere that doesn’t suck,” Jennings said. “I would hate for us to say, ‘the Chicago experience needs to come to an end, because we need to make it more affordable, and we need to make it possible for more students to attend,’ and then we have fewer students attending. I think that’s data that we’re going to look at really long and really hard.”
Data around other schools’ attendance rates at prom was also brought up, comparing downtown location years to local location years.
“We do have data from other schools who do every other year, they do not do it in the city,” Fikis said. “So Batavia is one example. They have a lot less students that attend, like over 100 less, when they’re not in the city.”
Both Jennings and the Student Council sponsors, including Fikis, made it clear to those in attendance at the Feb. 13 Student Council meeting that they were not the ones to make this decision, and were just relaying what information they gathered from the administration.
“I want you guys all to know that your advisers, [over] the last month, have given up hours and hours of their time to advocate for all of you,” Fikis said. “I just want you to know we have asked for your voice to be heard. You guys came up with some great ideas about school buses and kids selling [items] to get those tickets, and finding fundraisers, and they were all shut down.”
Pueyo also clarified that administration did not limit venue selection, but rather the cost to families.
“Administration did not restrict where prom could be held; instead, it placed a cap on what we would charge families for prom to reduce financial barriers, and the student council may fundraise to offset the cost,” Pueyo said.
However, advisers said they were uncertain how much student input factored into the final decision. At the Feb. 13 meeting, the Student Council advisers explained that, to their understanding and that of the Activities Director, student voice was either not included or was unclear in the process.
“As far as I know, I don’t know if we used student feedback,” freshman Student Council sponsor Jaime Garcia said. “I think we surveyed the student body in 2024 about lowering the prices and changing the location. I don’t know if that was taken into account. We’ll see. I’m still optimistic that we can all work together to make prom in the future a very memorable, unique experience for everybody.”
This meeting sparked conversation between attendees – some shocked, some confused, some curious. News also traveled throughout the school day as students raised concerns.
“I feel like by just doing like a banquet, like here, or like, nearby, I feel like it just takes away the fun of going to prom, because they could easily just do that for homecoming too. So it’s just like, I don’t know, it takes away the fun and the point of prom,” senior Guadalupe Perez said.
As opinions continued to worry students who knew about the upcoming plans, underclassmen spoke of the news.
“My initial reaction [was] I was disappointed, because when I first started high school, I was always looking forward to going to prom in Chicago,” sophomore Daniella Scarpace said. “I’ve always seen it on Instagram and stuff, and it looks really fun and like a cool experience. Something that stood out to me is just how everybody else in the room recognized how disappointed everyone was, and that just kind of shows how the majority of people don’t want it to not be in Chicago.”
Administration was contacted for additional commentary on Friday morning. Principal Limaris Pueyo indicated she was out of the building and would provide an update next week. This story will be updated when additional information is received.
Revision
Feb. 18, 2026
This story was updated to include an emailed statement from Principal Limaris Pueyo addressing the rationale behind the $100 prom ticket cap and administrative decision-making process.
