A hot and humid graduation ceremony for the class of 2010 has left District 308 officials weighing their options for the class of 2011.
“In light of Torry Gym in terms of the heat and humidity, obviously that is not going to change,” Dunnan said. “I know it’s something that has been dealt with on a year-to-year basis, but this year was probably as bad as it ever has been.”
Dunnan offered three options for consideration for next year’s ceremony.
During discussion at the district’s school board meeting Monday, many board members favored the idea of an outdoor ceremony.
In option 1, the ceremony remains in Torry Gym, but an allotted number of tickets (six to eight) are issued to each student to control the number of spectators in the gym. Drawbacks to this option include the inability to control the temperature and humidity inside the gym, and controlling entry at the eight to 10 entrances to the gym could prove cumbersome.
Option 2’s site for the ceremony is Five Points.
Graduation would be held in the air-conditioned auditorium. However, each student would be allotted only three or four tickets.
The ceremony would be held at Babcook Field, weather permitting, for option 3.
Dunnan said tickets would be distributed among students in the spring in order to allow them to be prepared for a sudden change of venue.
“My first inclination would be option 3, because it allows as many people as possible to observe the ceremony,” said board member Roger Hickman. “If the weather doesn’t cooperate, plan B.”
Washington Community High School’s graduation has not been held outside at least in the last 40 years, if ever, Dunnan added.
During this year’s May 23 ceremony, a malfunctioning public address system left much to be desired for many who packed Torry Gym. Dunnan said the system is being repaired.
Dunnan said more details on next year’s graduation venue will be presented at the district’s July 12 board meeting.
In other business, the board:
• heard a progress report from Dunnan for the Health Life Safety project who said everything was on schedule.
He said that there are always surprises financially when entering into projects such as this. A contingency in the amount of $161,000 is being used to cover surprise costs such as abating added asbestos and replacing window lentels, the steel plates above the windows.
• heard a presentation from history teacher Dan Reem, English teacher Dawn Dayhoff and learning specialist Becky Drum, who were involved in a new course which combined American literature and U.S. history into a 90-minute block class.
