DX body suggestions...

[ShaunK]

Decide whether an articulating LCD is important. As an example, my wife's D5100 has one and my D7000 doesn't.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that... Are those screens sturdy?

 

[TetonTom]

I’d been out of the Nikon scene for a few years, shootings by m43, and just recently bought a refurb d3400 2-lens kit from B&H from $439. Really amazed by the entry-level offering these days, compared to even a few years ago. This d3400 takes EXCELLENT OOC jpegs. Can’t imagine that a yearbook would need anything beyond this. Really pleasant to shoot with this setup, as well.


PS...when I was a yearbook photog in mid-80’s we had a K1000 and a 50mm f2. We developed our own Tri-x.

 

[BourbonCowboy]

I'm probably late to the party, but you can easily find a 70-300VR, used, for $250. There's also a tamron 17-50 2.8 on the FM site for $210. You can probably find a nice, used D7100 for less than $500...which would allow you to buy all three under your budget.