Members of Richmond Hill High School’s graduating class may get a chance to vote on where they want to receive their diplomas after school board members discussed putting potential venues into an online survey.
The Bryan County Board of Education is currently searching for a place to hold graduation in May for some 400 members of the class of 2014 after learning the Savannah Civic Center is already booked on graduation weekend.
Among options being discussed are Savannah State’s Tiger Arena, which seats 5,000, and Savannah’s Memorial Stadium.
Armstrong Atlantic State University‘s arena, which was used for a number of years until recently, is considered too small and crowded.
In addition, the BoE learned the International Trade Center on Hutchinson Island wants $30,000 to hold the ceremony there.
That was deemed too expensive, though it prompted school superintendent Dr. Paul Brooksher to suggest the possibility of charging relatives for tickets to the ceremony to help defray the cost.
“It’s just one option,” he said. “The issue is we’re running out of time.”
Another option was moving graduation forward to May 21 — it is currently scheduled for May 24, a Saturday morning — if the Civic Center was available.
The BoE learned at a work session last week the arena is booked the entire week of graduation by Savannah-Chatham Schools.
Brooksher said that wouldn’t happen next school year.
“I’ve already booked it through 2018,” he said, joking.
Whatever school administrators come up with, the school board appears likely to put the top choices on the school website and asking parents and students to vote.