Overview
- In a late Friday memo, Superintendent Howard Hepburn said funding is secured for each high school to use the same or a comparable venue to 2025, with a revised schedule due next week and at least four tickets guaranteed per graduate.
- The scrapped plan would have reserved outside venues for only the 11 largest graduating classes and moved most ceremonies into three high school gymnasiums.
- District estimates put gym ceremonies at about $3,000 versus roughly $25,000 at Nova Southeastern University and $50,000 at Hard Rock Live, a shift officials said would save about $500,000.
- Students, parents and local officials denounced the approach as inequitable, noting schools in wealthier areas would retain premium sites while others would be assigned gyms.
- The decision comes as the district faces enrollment‑driven deficits, with about 50,000 empty seats and 40,000 fewer students over a decade, prompting a $100 million cost‑cutting push and board‑approved closures of six schools with transition work underway.