High school graduation rescheduled

■ Seniors will graduate together in Panther Stadium on May 16.

Siloam Springs High School’s class of 2021 will get to graduate together, after school board members informally agreed at a special meeting Wednesday to move the commencement ceremony date and location.

Graduation will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 16, in Panther Stadium. Seniors were originally scheduled to graduate in two ceremonies at Barnhill Arena on May 15. In addition to splitting the ceremonies, the University of Arkansas’ covid-19 policies would have required there to be no processional or recessional, and students would have had to leave the arena as soon as they walked across the stage to receive their diploma.

Parents appealed to the school board, both in person and through emailed comments, at the April 8 meeting. Additionally, seniors Remington Wallis, Isabelle Pennick and a third student who wished to remain anonymous wrote a letter and circulated a petition requesting the ceremony be changed so the class can graduate together. The seniors gathered nearly 250 signatures of fellow students, parents, community members and even a handful of teachers, they said.

After the April 8 meeting, school board members asked Wiggins to look into other options.

On Wednesday, Wiggins noted that requirements for large gatherings have changed since graduation plans were originally made. However, there is no indication that the University of Arkansas will change its requirements, he said.

A ceremony in Panther Stadium will allow all students to graduate together with a processional and recessional but the facility is not available on May 15 because of the state soccer tournament, Wiggins said.

School administrators sent out a survey to families with four options, including a ceremony on Saturday, May 8, in Panther Stadium; a ceremony at the original date and location in Barnhill Arena; a ceremony on Sunday, May 16, in Panther Stadium; or a ceremony on Saturday, May 22.

A total of 166 families out of 272 graduates responded to the survey, Wiggins said. Each family, including students and their guardians, were only given one chance to respond. A slight majority preferred May 16, and two thirds of respondents preferred either May 8 or May 16, he said. Forty-seven percent said that graduation at Barnhill Arena was their least favorite choice.

Seventy percent listed graduating as a class as the most important reason for their choice,

followed by 28 percent who listed keeping the original date, 27 percent who listed providing a safe environment and 23 percent who listed travel plans, Wiggins said. Several groups of students have competitions unrelated to school on May 8 and May 22, but administrators contacted the 16 students whose families chose May 16 as their last choice and did not find any major conflicts, he said.

“With 275 students and parents there is going to be a conflict with whatever date we choose, there is no doubt about it,” Wiggins said. “Even if we stay on the Barnhill day, I have a feeling we have families that have a conflict on that day. I know, and I want you to know, we are not going to make everybody happy. I think we have an opportunity to provide our class with a whole class graduation at our stadium on the 16th and do it with not a whole lot of conflicts for our students and our parents as far as I can glean from this information.”

The district has contacted the University of Arkansas and canceling graduation in Barnhill Arena this year will not affect the district’s ability to host graduation in the venue in future years, Principal Rob Lindley said. Wiggins and Lindley said the financial impact of the cancellation is still not clear.

Wiggins said the district is still figuring out how many tickets each student will be allowed in the stadium. The district’s mask policy will still be in effect for those attending graduation although there will be some leeway for taking photos of students with diplomas, he said.

Administrators are also still in the process of creating an alternate plan in case of inclement weather, he said.

Board President Brian Lamb said his biggest concern was the seniors who wanted to graduate together, followed by concerns about losing the district’s spot at Barnhill Arena for future years.

Board Member Connie Matchell said she is excited students will be able to graduate together and sit back down after they cross the stage to watch their classmates graduate.

In other business, the board took the following actions:

• Approved certified and classified policy updates for the upcoming school year.

• Approved certified and classified salary schedule updates for the upcoming school year, including a $1,250 raise to teacher base pay and a 3.03 percent raise for classified staff members.

• Accepted the resignation of high school science teacher Tracie Gelinas.

• Hired Mary Hayden Williams as Southside English as a second language teacher.