GRADUATIONS: High schools grapple with crowds at ceremonies

May 31, 2013 04:29 PM PDT May 31, 2013 10:49 PM PDT GRADUATIONS: High schools grapple with crowds at ceremonies GRADUATIONS: High schools grapple with crowds at ceremonies FRANK BELLINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Graduates from Lakeside High School in Lake Elsinore make their way to their seats as friends and family attend graduations at The Diamond on Thursday, May 30. Some districts require tickets to control the size of crowds at ceremonies. Others rent arenas or ballparks. 1 WEBLINK Inland SoCal Graduations 2013 High school graduates' walk across that stage is a moment to celebrate – for them, their parents and often extended families. Packing those relatives into the typical high school stadium forces most Inland schools to do something about the crowds, which can reach more than 5,000 and leave many standing. Schools issue a limited number of tickets for each graduate, and sometimes charge for extras. Some parents have turned to Craigslist and Facebook to snare more tickets. A few districts rent stadiums or arenas built for hockey, minor-league baseball or boxing because they're big enough to hold anyone who wants to cheer on their graduate. "Some families want to bring 30 or 40 people," said Jacquie Paul, spokeswoman for Riverside Unified School District, where three schools give each graduate eight or 10 tickets and two schools don't require tickets. "Each school tries to be as generous as possible," Paul said. Riverside schools, like those in many Inland districts, don't charge for tickets. High schools in districts such as Corona-Norco, Hemet, Murrieta Valley and San Jacinto give each graduate four to six free tickets and sell a limited number of extra tickets for $5 to $20 each. Proceeds help offset graduation ceremony costs, officials said. GOING ONLINE Hemet High Principal Emily Shaw said seniors can get up to 12 tickets. Some graduates who choose not to walk in the ceremony give their tickets to friends, she said. Social media now makes it easier for students to advertise their extra tickets, said Melanie Norton, spokeswoman for Temecula Attorney Valley Unified School District. Great Oak, Chaparral and Temecula Attorney Valley high schools give each graduate six tickets, but some don't need them all. Realizing tickets are in high demand, Norton said some students sell their extra tickets via Facebook. Several Craigslist ads sought Inland high school graduation tickets but fewer sellers had ads. Orlando Castro, a Hemet resident whose nephew will graduate from Murrieta Mesa High School next week, had an ad on Craigslist seeking one more ticket for his family. So far, one person wanted $70 for a ticket – much higher than the school's price of $10. Castro offered $40, but the seller turned him down. He said his wife is sad the whole family can't attend their nephew's graduation. ARENA OF GRADS High schools in Rialto Unified School District don't have to bother with tickets since the district started renting Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario a couple of years ago. The arena holds 11,089 and has a Jumbotron screen on which each graduate is projected, district spokeswoman Syeda Jafri said. "It's such a wonderful thing when parents can be seated where they can see their son or daughter walk down the stage," she said. "Our students deserve it." Rialto high schools used to hand out free tickets to each graduate and sell additional ones for ceremonies in district stadiums. Many parents struggled to decide which grandparents, aunts and uncles to bring, Jafri said. The rental fee for the arena, where Rialto schools will have four ceremonies Sunday, June 2, balances out the costs for individual schools to rent stages, buy flowers, hire security and pay for extra police to direct traffic. Lake Elsinore Unified had similar reasons when it moved graduations to The Diamond minor league baseball stadium soon after it opened in the 1990s, district spokesman Mark Dennis said. Parking and restrooms are plentiful, the 6,500 seats have arm rests and there's much more room than a high school stadium, he said. Each high school – which has 420 to 500 graduates – gets 6,500 tickets. Hemet High School's longtime graduation tradition is at the Ramona Bowl. The school doesn't pay to use the natural outdoor amphitheater under an agreement between the Ramona Pageant and Hemet Unified School District, which provides bus transportation during the outdoor play in exchange. TICKET DEMANDS Riverside Unified budgets about $8,000 each for most graduations. North High pays another $7,500 to use the Riverside City College stadium, although next year it will have its own stadium for the ceremony. Even on-campus graduations have costs beyond what most parents realize, said Tom Pike, assistant superintendent for Corona-Norco. Extra police are needed to direct traffic, and security staff is paid overtime or private security firms are hired, he said. Programs are printed and extra bleachers are rented. Each of the five regular high schools in Corona-Norco has its own stadium, which will hold about 5,000 people, but some high schools ran out of tickets, Pike said. Graduating classes ranged from about 850 at Santiago High to about 500 at Norco High, he said. Norco High parent Grace Gonzalez said she doesn't agree with the school's charging $10 for each of the six additional tickets she purchased, which were in addition to the four free tickets her son received. And even after paying for extra tickets for the ceremony Wednesday, May 29, she said there weren't enough places to sit. Gonzalez said schools should lower costs and not charge for tickets to what should be a celebration for the whole family. "Today it's graduation tickets," she said. "What will it be tomorrow?" Also contributing to this report: Staff writer Michelle L. Klampe, mklampe@pe.com. Follow Dayna Straehley on Twitter: @dstraehley_PE and watch for her posts on the Inland Schools blog: http://blog.pe.com/schools/ Latest Headlines
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