This year at Carterville High School, the prices of all of the a’ la carte and the vending machine items have been raised tremendously. Returning students were irritated at this increase. The inflation of these items needs to go, and quickly. This is causing many people to do more work than necessary for the extra money to purchase these necessary sustenances. If people did not have a problem with it last year, do not change something that does not need fixing.

The item that really causes tensions to rise is the cookies. They are the fan favorite on the a’ la carte menu. They used to be $1, but now are $1.50. “I can’t get a cookie as often anymore because I don’t have enough money to buy one daily,” said senior Ayden Gill.  This causes tension because, at first, it used to be as simple as giving the lovely lady a dollar, but now, you have to either bring two extra quarters or break another dollar bill. This makes more work for the lady that runs the stand. 

The second most sold item at Carterville High School is the drinks at the vending machines. They were also raised by 50 cents, making them 2 dollars. “Last year, I used to get a Dr. Pepper, but now I can’t because of how the prices have risen,” said Joselin Sanchez, a sophomore. The vending machines also have a tendency to break and steal money from the customers, and now that the prices are raised, more money would be lost if it were to break down. Cheyenne Cockrum, sophomore, said, “I can’t risk losing 2 dollars now, because I do not have enough money to buy another.” 

While these prices are giving the school more money for extra activities, it still takes away from high school students who don’t have much money, whether they get what they paid for or the machine breaks and they do not. If they continue to spend more and more money, then they will eventually lose it all to the food items.