Opting for a traditional graduation ceremony, the Alliance School Board voted to delay setting a date for the graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 as guidelines to limit crowd sizes to slow the spread of COVID-19 are still in place.
The board discussed their options with Superintendent Dr. Troy Unzicker on Monday evening. Unzicker told board members that he had surveyed the seniors on the type of ceremony.
“In the original survey, 72 percent of the respondents had said it was best to delay the formal graduation ceremony as late as we needed to to have as close to a traditional ceremony as possible,” said Unzicker. “With the Governor’s guidance on youth sports, it’s clear that June is not going to be available for a graduation of our magnitude.”
Unzicker asked the board to consider postponing the decision until the June board meeting to follow the wishes of the class of 2020.
Some students, Unzicker noted, are leaving Alliance in early June, which is why he is working to plan an event to honor those students before they depart. Students who are leaving early, he said, can contact him to put together a ceremony to receive their diploma.
“We’re doing anything we can to honor them,” said Unzicker. “As long as the senior class still wants to do the traditional graduation, it still needs to be postponed. I may survey the senior class again to see if they changed their mind. I’m just trying to follow what the class of 2020 told me they want to do.”
The board voted unanimously to delay the decision. The Alliance Times-Herald will publish its graduation keepsake for Alliance’s class of 2020 in the May 20 issue. The section will feature photos of the graduates and details of their accomplishments.