As officials at the Bainbridge Island School District seek to cut costs, some fees will shift to families.

This June, each graduating senior at BISD will have to cough up $30 to cover part of the cost of printing diplomas and renting the technology needed for the graduation ceremony.

School board members approved the change at the Feb. 27 meeting.

“It’s surprising how much graduation actually costs to pull off each year — and historically, that has come straight out of the [high school] budget,” said Kristen Haizlip, director of educational services. “We cut back as much as we can, we use donations as much as we can, but at this point, in order to continue to have graduation like we do, we’d like to assess a $30 per-student fee.”

Bainbridge High School has the largest budget of all the public schools BI, due in part to its enrollment of almost 1,400 students. While the school’s general fund has historically “had more cushion,” budget shortages at the district level have forced building administrators to reassess some student-related fees.

The diplomas, plus diploma covers, have already been ordered. Each one costs $12 to print, and a cover costs $8. The audio and visual equipment rental is about $4,000. All told, the price of graduation is about $11,000.

Waivers will be available for families who are financially burdened by the fee, or about 10% of the graduating class, by the district’s estimate. Charging each senior $30 will offset the printing costs for families who are unable to pay.