Manatee school board approves new graduation dates. Students at one school spoke out

Despite pushback from the students and families at one campus, the School Board of Manatee County has approved new graduation dates for the Class of 2021.

Hoping to accommodate more people, district leaders suggested the ceremonies be moved from late May to early June, the earliest dates available at LECOM Park. While graduations are usually held at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, the venue would only allow 500 to 600 people based on its COVID-19 restrictions.

LECOM, the spring training ballpark for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has room for social distancing and two guests per graduate, said Willie Clark, the executive director of secondary schools.

Florida also extended the window for students to take this year’s statewide assessments. By pushing back graduation, Clark said, more students can take the necessary tests and meet the criteria for graduation, allowing them to walk the stage (or baseball field) in June.

In response, the school board voted 4-1, with Mary Foreman dissenting, to approve the new graduation dates on Tuesday evening:

• Southeast High School, June 1 (previously May 19).

• Braden River High School, June 2 (previously May 22).

• Lakewood Ranch High School, June 3 (previously May 20).

• Bayshore High School, June 4 (previously May 22).

• Palmetto High School, June 5 (previously May 21).

Manatee High School is now scheduled to hold its ceremony on June 3 at Hawkins Stadium, the campus football field and the traditional venue for MHS graduations. The school’s ceremony was previously scheduled for May 22.

The date change and two-guest limit sparked protests in the Manatee High community, with more than 2,200 people signing a petition and calling for more guest tickets as of Tuesday night.

And last Wednesday, about 48 hours after a Manatee High senior created the petition, more than 100 students attempted a school walkout to protest their graduation plans.

“Family members of students have already made arrangements to come on May 22,” said Manatee High senior Emily Parnell. “This is a huge day, not only for students, but their family members as well.”

Parnell was among four people to speak at Tuesday’s board meeting, supporting the original graduation date and the proposed increase from two to four tickets.

“This year’s seniors got nothing,” she continued. “No homecoming. No prom. No Grad Bash. And although there is no one to blame, it is still devastating. Seniors deserve to have their family there when they walk the stage, especially after such a difficult year. Many students also have split families and shouldn’t have to choose between their loved ones.”

Just before she cast the dissenting vote on Tuesday evening, Foreman said there was no reason to change Manatee High’s graduation date since it was planned for Hawkins Stadium, not LECOM Park. For that same reason, she said, the district could set its own ticket rules for the campus venue.

“So what is the reason for the date change?” Foreman asked.

“Since I can remember, we’ve had a graduation season,” Clark responded. “It’s normally one week where we traditionally, as a district, host all of our graduations. All of our schools go through it, as you know. The thinking is that should continue. We should have one week where all of our students are graduating at the same time.”

And though Manatee High was not restricted by LECOM Park’s two-guest maximum, the district chose to implement the same ticket limit across all schools, an attempt to promote fairness.

Clark also assured board members that he would negotiate with LECOM officials at an upcoming meeting. Unlike the graduation dates, which were finalized on Tuesday evening, the number of guest tickets could still change.

“The superintendent charged me with trying to get at least four (tickets) for all our schools,” he said.

Board members were hopeful that COVID-19 would diminish, especially as more people are vaccinated, and that graduations would have a greater capacity by June.

For now, it was beneficial to move the graduation dates and to push for more tickets in the months ahead, board member Gina Messenger said.

“I think it is the most logical way to move forward and the most equitable way to move forward,” she said. “I do wish it had been communicated sooner and probably in a more explanatory manner so that families better understood, ‘Here are the reasons why.’ I don’t think we would have had so many upset families.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.