Panel decides against freshmen at prom

Verdict brings conclusion to debate that arose at School Board meeting in June

Freshmen will not be allowed to attend future proms at Perry High School.

That decision was made recently by a 20-member committee of Student Council leaders spanning freshmen through seniors.

Principal Todd Porcello established the panel to consider the issue of freshmen attending the prom, which provoked a debate among School Board members at a meeting in June.

The question of whether invited freshmen should be permitted at the prom arose when the Perry School Board was about to approve 2018-19 student handbooks.

After Board Vice President Andrew Roberts voiced his objections to freshmen attending

the prom, the subject was discussed and then tabled until students returned for the academic year and could share their sentiments.

To secure input from the student body, Porcello in September assembled a committee consisting of four class officers — president, vice president, treasurer and secretary — from each of the four grade levels. Rounding out the group were council’s executive officers, who also serve as president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.

The committee members sought opinions from their fellow students, and then held a series of three meetings over the course of three weeks, Porcello said on Nov. 30. After the panel considered the pros and cons of freshmen attending the prom and discussed the feedback they received from fellow students, the group rendered its decision.

Porcello said the committee’s discussion on the topic was civil.

“To be honest, there wasn’t a great amount of passion either way,” he said.

He also commended the panelists on how they worked to reach a verdict.

“I want to thank and praise the committee members,” Porcello said. “They did a wonderful job of laying out the pros and cons and conducting themselves in a professional manner.”

After the student committee issued its ruling, Porcello said he consulted with Superintendent Jack Thompson.

It was decided that Porcello would make the revision to the handbook, without the issue going back to the School Board for a vote. This was based on the policy in the student handbook which states, “The building principal, with the approval of the superintendent, has the right to amend this handbook.”

Once Porcello makes the update to the handbook, which exists as an online document only, it officially

will resolve a controversy that surfaced at Perry School Board’s June 26 meeting.

Before a vote could be taken to approve the Perry High, Middle and Elementary schools handbooks collectively, Roberts raised an issue with a policy regarding Perry freshmen being permitted to attend the prom.

The policy from the 201819 handbook as originally proposed stated: “Although all Perry High School students are welcomed to attend prom, freshmen and sophomores must be invited by a junior or senior in order to attend.” The wording was slightly different than the rule in the 2017-18 handbook, which said, “All guests must be of sophomore rank or higher.”

However, a separate decision made in the spring by Porcello allowed freshmen, when invited by a senior or junior, to attend the 2018 prom.

“My suggestion would be either going back to language we had before where freshmen weren’t allowed to prom, or we pose the question to juniors and seniors or the prom committee itself,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he believes that many 14- and 15-year-olds — the typical age range for freshmen — haven’t achieved the proper maturity level to attend a high school prom.

“My personal feeling is that a 14- or 15-year-old at a prom isn’t always a good thing,” he said.

About five Perry freshmen attended the 2018 prom, and these students caused no problems, board member Ashley Hacking said at the June 26 meeting. She added that the prom is a chaperoned event and all students who attend the event must follow school rules.

Hacking said it seemed inconsistent to exclude freshmen from attending the prom when they’re permitted to participate in other sports, clubs and activities with upper-class members.

“I personally think if we’re going to look at it like that, we’re going to have to step back and look at everything that our high schoolers do,” Hacking said.