This fall, Ballard High School students will pay twice as much — $50 — for activity cards. Dances at Chief Sealth High School will cost more. And Rainier Beach High School may not have a yearbook.

Call it the Coke effect. After a Seattle School Board decision last year to ban sales of soft drinks and junk food, school administrators are facing the loss of tens of thousands of dollars. That money went to each school's Associated Student Body (ASB) fund to help pay for travel to athletic games and a host of other student activities.

School-district officials recently learned that the estate of an anonymous donor will help shore up some of the programs, though by how much is unclear. Meanwhile, the district has begun encouraging new fund-raising efforts over the long term.

Other districts around the region also are toughening nutrition standards. A state law passed last year required each school district to come up with its own nutrition policy by Aug. 1.

By canceling an exclusive vending contract with Coca-Cola, the Seattle district will lose an estimated $315,000 this school year. Individual high schools are losing up to $25,000 each, while some middle schools are losing more than $10,000.

A contract the district signed with Summit Vending earlier this month could pull in about $135,000 annually for schools through sales of fruit juice, water and healthy snacks. But many principals are waiting to see how those items go over with students before counting on the money.

Steve Nielsen, the district's finance director, said donations and fund-raising efforts should mitigate the loss of Coke machines. In making its decision last September, the School Board argued that student health was paramount — and that ASBs could adapt their fund-raising methods.

"It all takes effort. It's different than just putting a dollar in a machine," Nielsen said. "If we do it right, things will be different, but I don't think students will suffer as a result. Certainly their health will be better."

The estate of an anonymous donor, who was a supporter of schools before his death, is expected to help save some programs, Nielsen said. The district last spring hired fund-raiser Dick Lee on a six-month, $46,000 contract to look for ways to offset the losses. Lee said he spends about 60 percent of his time strengthening existing fund-raising efforts and 40 percent on new ones.

Tonight he's organizing a reception with some Seattle Storm players to raise money for middle-school athletic shoes and plans a fun run in March to raise money for other programs. He's also advising schools to sell advertising in newspapers and yearbooks.

Lee said the loss of Coke money particularly hurts Chief Sealth, Rainier Beach and Cleveland high schools because they don't have the fund-raising networks that other schools enjoy.

"It's going to devastate us. It's going to absolutely devastate us," said Rainier Beach Athletic Director Dan Jurdy, who also used to be the school's activity coordinator. Jurdy said he quit his activity role last spring partly because he was so discouraged by the looming cutbacks. The football program, too, faces reductions. The school relied on the Coke money to buy uniforms, helmets and padding which cost hundreds of dollars per player, he said. He's not even sure how the school will afford travel to the state tournament.

Jurdy suggested the school save $5,000 by axing the yearbook, which typically loses money.

"I wish the board, before they would have done this, would have looked at alternative sources of funding," he said. "They say we are going to make it up with water and other stuff ... but c'mon man, juice?"

Chief Sealth principal John Boyd said his school's yearbook needs to meet its budget this year, even if it means scaling back or including more black-and-white photos. He's also anticipating student dances and athletic banquets will cost more to attend.

Seattle schools aren't alone. The Everett School District banned junk food and soft drinks last year but reimbursed the ASB for its lost revenue — about $100,000. The district will reimburse half the amount this year, then drop the contributions in 2006-07.

Everett District spokeswoman Gay Campbell said the phased approach has allowed the ASB to market healthier drinks and snacks and to start other fund-raising efforts. She said students are more accepting of the healthier alternatives now than they were initially.

In Bellevue, district administrators are considering banning soft drinks in 2006-07.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com