It’s May and our phones are ringing off the hook. Clients from schools here in the Midwest and all around the country are calling to set their school shows and school assemblies and enrichment programs for next year. Wise schools like to schedule in the spring because they know they get the best selection of dates and also because they can then relax all summer knowing they don’t have “the sword of Damocles” hanging over their heads. Their season is set. Many times I have concluded a conversation with a school principal in which we set their dates for the following year and then ask what they were doing for the summer. The reply is always something like “ I am going to Hilton Head to play golf, and I am really happy to get this off my plate so I can relax and not worry about next year!”

But I also wanted to mention something today about pricing and how schools can save money. With the economy still sputtering in some areas everyone wants to save a few dollars if they can, right?

First off, it pays to shop around. Take for example the earth balloon program we call The Earth Dome. This piece of equipment is the centerpiece of programs offered by Mobile Ed and several other companies. It takes a day to accommodate most schools, and sometimes two days. Other companies charge between $1000 and $1200 and even more per day. For a large school needing two days that comes to as much as $2400. Then they add travel fees on top and the total bill can be more than $2500! Mobile Ed charges $695 per day and there is no fee for travel. Yet the equipment at the center of the program, the earth balloon itself, is exactly the same. Same program, but, in the case of a two day commitment at a school the price difference would be $1110 less for a school that schedules with us. I don’t know about your school but where my kids went to school, $1110 was real money.

But another area where schools can save is through working together. When one school schedules a program in the morning and a partner school schedules in the afternoon most school assembly performers and companies will offer a discount to both schools. It pays to cooperate!

Finally, schools scheduling early often receive some kind of discount for doing so. For instance, most years we offer a 5% discount in the spring to schools who schedule early for the coming year and then prepay the entire amount. If your school can do this, the savings can add up!

So, as an example, suppose we have a school of seven hundred students. Suppose they want to have the earth balloon school assembly program. They need two days. That could be over $2500. If they call Mobile Ed, their rate will be $1390. Now if they settle the entire account up front it reduces their price by 5% or $69.50. Their entire bill is now is now $1338.50 for two days. They saved  $1161.50! 

Now what could you do with $1161.50? You could have a great time in Vegas of course but with that you could also afford a couple of other assemblies at different times in the year! And of course, school with only a small budget can afford a really exciting high quality program like The Earth Dome instead of the same tired, old magician or ventriloquist the kids got bored with three years ago.

So as you scan the various options for school assembly programs for next year, just be aware that it does pay to look around a little. After all, a penny saved ....

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN