Board Votes to Keep High School Graduation at DCHS

The Class of 2017 at DeKalb County High School will graduate Friday, May 26 on campus at DCHS.
Although two recent surveys of the Class revealed a majority wished to have the commencement at Tennessee Tech’s Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville, the Board of Education Thursday night voted to keep the graduation at home. In the first senior family survey, 81% of the respondents voted to have the graduation at Tech. A follow-up survey of just the senior class students showed that 113 or 57% want to have the commencement at Tech, 46 or 23% do not, and 39 students or 19% have no preference.
The school board voted 4-1 to have the 2017 graduation at DCHS on Friday, May 26. Board members Jerry Wayne Johnson, Shaun Tubbs, Doug Stephens, and Danny Parkerson voted in favor. Kate Miller voted against preferring to honor the wishes of the majority of the students. Board members W.J. (Dub) Evins, III and Jim Beshearse were absent.
Stephens, who chaired the school board meeting Thursday night in the absence of Chairman Evins, said members of the board discussed the issue at a workshop prior to the meeting. “We did discuss this at the workshop. Considering the costs and considering that the second time we went back and asked for acceptance, the public’s vote (student survey response) was close enough that I think the view of the board decided to keep it here,” said Stephens.
For several years the DCHS graduation has been held on the high school football field. The threat of rain last year forced the administration to change the date from the previously scheduled Friday, May 20 to Thursday, May 19. But the move forced some relatives coming from farther distances to change their travel plans.
Since there is no other venue large enough in DeKalb County to accommodate the crowds who attend graduation, the commencement must be held on the high school football field unless it is moved out of county. Attendance would be limited to ticket holders if the graduation were moved indoors to the DCHS gymnasium, county complex, or even at the McMinnville Civic Center.
Having the DCHS graduation at Tennessee Tech would resolve several concerns. It would accommodate the crowd. It would be cheaper. While the school system would have to rent the Hooper Eblen Center for one night, it would not have to rent chairs, a sound system, or pay other costs associated with organizing a commencement. However there could be liability concerns, especially if the school system were to provide bus transportation for the graduates. And it could create a hardship for some families who might not have the means or transportation to get to an out of county venue.