Prom Debacle: HFHS 'Attempting To Do Right' By Students Missing Out

HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR, IL — Officials at Homewood-Flossmoor High School are facing harsh criticism from parents and students, after some students are unable to attend prom due to space constraints at the venue.

In an attempt to mitigate the situation, Principal Dr. Clinton Alexander Friday said the school is considering an alternative, "prom-like" event for juniors and seniors at the school who were not able to buy tickets to the original event.

"The Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration understands that prom is an important milestone in our students' high school experience," Alexander wrote in a letter to families. "We are trying to do right by our students by looking for an alternative prom-like option for those who could not get tickets to this year's prom."

Parents and students have taken to social media in the days and weeks leading up to the May 6 event, frustrated that students would have to miss out on what is seen by many as the pinnacle event of high school.

Complications with the event's venue led to roughly 75 students being unable to attend, Alexander said in the letter, also writing that "logistical complications beyond our control" led to the prom predicament. Proms of the past have hosted 725 students, he said; this year's event will be attended by 650.

"I would like to provide some background information on how we have arrived where we are today," Alexander wrote. "Our school was only able to secure a smaller venue than typical due to the sale of the larger event space we anticipated having for this year’s prom."

Alexander went on to detail the past several years of developments around the prom. The text is below:

• For Prom in May 2020, HF canceled its venue contract due to COVID concerns. The venue’s management could have kept HF’s $8,000 deposit, but instead generously agreed, at the school’s request, to carry it over to a future event.
• For Prom May 2021, due to a spike in COVID cases, HF did not have a prom but, instead, held an outdoor on-campus event in place of our junior/senior prom.
• For Prom May 2022, the venue was not available due to scheduling issues, and so we hosted our prom at the Field Museum, with the intent of using the initial contract this school year.

"In the meantime, and unbeknownst to us, the management company sold the larger event space we initially had contracted for; however, the company but was able to host this year’s prom in its smaller space," Alexander wrote. "As I am sure you know, there are only a few event spaces in downtown Chicago large enough to host a high school prom as large as ours, and those spaces all were booked by the time HF was made aware of the sale of the larger event space. (As you also likely know, prom contracts often are in place a year or more in advance.)"

Alexander said the school took steps to address the situation, by first encouraging students to purchase the tickets as soon as possible after sales began. The school "specifically advised students of the likelihood of a sell-out," Alexander wrote, and officials created a wait list.

Alexander said the school has "accommodated all seniors we are aware of," and that "only a handful of junior students remain on the waiting list."

Parent TaShawna Bennett contends that the administration's message to parents was not accurate. Her son, a senior at the school, was unable to buy tickets.

"This is false information," Bennett wrote in a social media group for parents. "The day tickets sold out, I called the school and was told that nothing could be done to get my senior his prom ticket. I called afterward when I found out the tickets were being given to other students, and I was still told that it was because of exceptional circumstances regarding those students and nothing could be done for my son. I was never told there was a waiting list for my senior to be added to."

Shortly after sharing her frustrations on social media Friday, the school contacted Bennett and informed her that there was a ticket available for her son, she told Patch.

"I’ve been trying to get him a ticket for weeks, now they made a ticket available," Bennett said. "It’s not fair, I feel bad for other people’s kids. They made this ticket available for me because I made a fuss on social media.

"Before when I was contacting them, there was nothing that could be done. When I posted that that was false information, then they made a ticket available."

Bennett said while she's relieved her son will get to go to prom, she feels badly for other kids who won't.

"I do want him to go to prom, but I feel really bad for those kids who don’t have that situation worked out for them," she said.

"I’m happy that my son gets to go to prom, but it’s really unfortunate for the other kids."

Tiesha Smith's son Amari is one of those who will miss out. Amari had needed a guest slip from his girlfriend's school for him to be able to bring her with him to the event, and there was a delay in getting that, Smith said. Long lines for ticket sales also proved a problem, she said, and he couldn't wait in line for fear of missing his bus. When he went to buy the tickets, they were sold out.

"My son was at the mercy of another school’s system because he had to get his girlfriend's guest slip signed," Smith said.

Like Bennett, Smith took to social media to express her frustration and try to rally other parents behind her. It was to no avail, because there a ticket was not made available for her son.

"When you took his only ability to be able to enjoy himself with his classmates ..." Smith said, of her frustration with the circumstances. "And the school's not willing to budge."

Her son won't attend his high school's prom, but will be able to enjoy another prom.

"The only saving grace for me is that my son has decided he’ll go to his girlfriend's prom," Smith said.

Alexander and administrators issued a survey Friday morning, asking those who are unable to attend prom if they would be interested in an alternative option to "take place at a date in the near future."