The Fremont Union High School District eliminated yearbook classes two years ago in a budget-cutting move, which meant students and advisers were forced to create the yearbook on their own time. The sale of the yearbooks covered the cost.

After countless late nights, frayed nerves and even a couple of crying breakdowns, the Fremont and Monta Vista high schools' volunteer yearbook staff handed out the 2004-05 editions.

Working on the yearbook staff sounds like fun to most students, but Jon Caward, the adviser at Fremont, said some students have no idea how much work it takes.

"There's a high rate of attrition when they see just what it entails," Caward said.

For Xixi Hu, editor-in-chief for Monta Vista's yearbook, creating a yearbook entailed many aspects. She said it was important for her staff to form a yearbook that represented students, staff and the school in general. To achieve that, she said, the yearbook staff met often to exchange ideas.

Layout was the most difficult part, but coordinating the staff was also a challenge, Xixi said.

"I like to be detail-oriented, and I rearrange like crazy," she said. "Because it wasn't a regular class, it was hard to get everyone under the same roof at the same time."

Jay Shelton, an art teacher and yearbook adviser at Monta Vista, had an easier time with his 28 students.

"We have no problem with staffing," he said. "The administration was helpful and appreciative too."

In addition to their teaching responsibilities, Caward and Shelton spent their after-school time working on the yearbook throughout the semester. Both said they had to make sacrifices in their personal lives.

"I probably put in an extra 10-12 hours each week and more than that on the big weeks," Shelton said. "It takes away from some things you do socially."

The advisers may have been the leaders, but the students were the ones taking pictures and designing pages throughout the school year. They balanced their regular school days' academics and family commitments.

Caward said the right students for the job weren't necessarily the most creative ones, but rather the ones from his classes that he knew he could rely on.

Stephanie Chien was one of the students Shelton relied on at Monta Vista. The Berkeley-bound senior was the managing editor, the liaison between Shelton and Xixi.

Stephanie said she wasn't able to participate on the swim team because she had to focus her efforts on the yearbook.

"The amount of dedication the yearbook required wasn't flexible," she said.

The late nights and hard work were all about business, but she said the Monta Vista staff also found ways to lighten the mood, such as hugging a temperamental printer in an effort to make it work and getting pizzas delivered late at night. All of it was worth it, though, she said.

"Yearbook was a fun experience even though it was stressful at times," she said. "It's kind of surreal when you finally see it printed."