Students who prefer Pepsi over Coke now buy Sprite and Surge from campus vending machines instead of Mountain Dew and Slice. A contract with Pepsi was ended prematurely when Coke outbid them earlier this year. With Coke's contract, more of the money from each transaction will go toward students' activities. "Frankly, I think there were a lot of us who hoped Pepsi would outbid Coke because we prefer Pepsi over Coke," Principal Jeff Thompson said. "[But] the money will go to support students' activities." "Coke is nasty," junior Julie Rooker said. Senior Dana Serfozo sees some good in the switch from Pepsi to Coke. "I think it's good that we have water machines and juice now, too," Serfozo said. "Last year with the Pepsi machines, I tried getting water and the machines were always empty because there were only two spaces for water." Athletics will not be the only program benefiting from soda machines; Thompson said that activities such as choir, drama, speech, journalism, and cheer will also receive money. Choir director Steve Weikle said he believes the change from Pepsi to Coke is a good move since other activities beside athletics benefit. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Marilyn Domingo said the Athletics Department, however, will not be receiving less money although it shares the profit with other groups. A third-party company, DD Marketing, approached Lodi Unified School District (LUSD) because they thought they could negotiate a better contract with vendors. An advisory committee including athletic directors, site administrators, parents, and students was formed to develop a request for proposal. The first request for proposal was sent to Pepsi Cola Bottling Company, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Seven-Up Bottling Company, and NorCal Distributing. Coca-Cola was teh only company to submit a proposal, for $4.2 million for 10 years. Domingo said the School Board rejected the proposal and asked that another request be made to encourage Pepsi-Cola to bid. The second time, a request for proposal packet was sent to Canteen, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, NorCal Distributing, Pepsi Cola Bottling Company, and Seven-Up Bottling Company. Pepsi's proposal was $4.6 million for 10 years; Coke's was $4.8 million for 10 years. Because Coke was willing to pay more money than Pepsi, LUSD and Coca-Cola agreed on a 10-year contract. "For every dollar spent, a higher percentage is returned to the school," Thompson said. "We should see between a 200-300 percent increase in the amount of money coming into student activities accounts." For every dollar spent on soda, the district will receive 45 to 46 cents. The next step the advisory committee will take is looking at a plan for distribution of funds. "Over a 10-year period, a conservative estimate of how much the district will receive is $4,826,494," Thompson said. Sixty percent of the exclusive rights fees will be split between the three high schools in LUSD. Commission made from sales at Bear Creek will go directly to Bear Creek on top of the $15,000 exclusive rights feeds Bear Creek will receive. The downside is, due to a uniform pricing agreement between Coke and LUSD, the soda in the Student Store must be sold at the same price as the soda sold in soda machines. Previously, soda cans could be bought at the Student Store for 50 cents, but not soda cans are not even available. The 20-ounce sodas are sold there for a dollar--the same price and size as the soda in the machines. "It makes everything else more expensive than before, but that creates more profit," Thompson said. Senior Cynthia Anderson does not appreciate the sodas' higher prices. "I'd rather not pay for soda and save myself a dollar," Anderson said.