Just as school assembly programs cover all topics, they come in all different price ranges. Some are jaw-droppingly expensive. Some are surprisingly reasonable. Some are even ... gasp! ... FREE!
If “free” pretty well sums up your budget then don’t despair! Surprisingly, there are numerous options for finding free programs, depending on your area.
Hospitals sometimes provide programs on, say, Bike Safety, or maybe Healthy Nutrition. It doesn't hurt to check around your area. Local police may have a Dare program or may be willing to arrange a session around their canine unit. Local retired experts in various fields can sometimes be drafted. In some places NASA offers an outreach program. And Ronald McDonald has three free programs that are quite good I am told. So check around and you may be surprised what you find.
Paid assembly programs range from inexpensive to very expensive. Usually, there is a set fee for one presentation and additional fees added on if you need more presentations or Hands On Workshops. Often performers charge for travel and accommodation so be sure to check that out to be sure what your final cost will be. (At Mobile Ed, though we travel extensively, we have never charged additional fees for travel and accommodations.) A basic range for performance fees for a 45 minute program (depending what part of the country you live in) may start as low as $200 and can range up to as much as $1500! (I never paid that much, hee hee hee). Fees for children's theatre tours and other "group" programs go much higher.
If you are adept at Grant Writing, you may want to check around online and see what is available. And don't forget to ask presenters and companies about discounts. Many performers will give you a break on price for scheduling several programs with them or for coordinating more than one school together so that the presenter can do two schools the same day or a block of schools together in the same week. Also, presenters really don't like to have days when they don't work. If you don't mind working quickly at the last minute and can be flexible with your schedule you can often find a "deal" on a date that is right around the corner and save hundreds of dollars! It never hurts to ask. Oh, by the way, don't be fooled when a for-profit assembly company says that they have "grants " available. You can bet they just have open dates about to go to waste and are willing to drop their price to fill the date, but are trying to make it sound better. The downside to this is that, like with any kind of bargain hunting, you will not have much control over what you get. The best course is to always try to pick your programs far enough in advance that you can get both the program and the date that you want!
There is something out there for every budget. I have had some great programs that were very inexpensive, and others that were far more costly than they were worth, but generally you get what you pay for!