How much do they pay exactly? Does it come out of a specific program’s budget, eg drama? Just curious.
To play a devil’s advocate:
Perhaps the plays generate some money for the school or the drama program. Disney might draw a larger audience.
Also, for better or worse (probably worse), Disney is “safe” and designed for mass appeal.
Small schools probably have a harder time with these sorts of decisions. Ideally, a school might encourage adaptations of classics, to foster deeper understanding and creativity (as well as to ensure that there aren’t too many “re-runs”, furthering student and audience interest). But a larger student populace makes that easier via access to more ideas, more interest, more hands.
At least this year, they let the seniors pick the play and completely run the show. They're still paying about a grand for the rights, but they did make a more interesting choice, "The Crucible".
A good working copy of Shakespeare is going to run some money just for copies.
Or they could just do Hamlet with Lions