A River Hill High School group and school officials plan to find ways to keep students from being shut out of future homecoming dances after some students complained about tickets being sold out.
“No one was happy that the situation existed,” said Lorraine Seelaus, president of the school?s Parent Teacher Student Association.
“We hope to help them brainstorm ways of alleviating it next year.”
A date for the meeting has not been determined.
The group seeks to discuss limiting the number of tickets that students who don?t attend the school can purchase and expanding the space where the dance is held at the school, she said.
About 1,200 tickets were sold last week for Saturday?s dance in the school?s cafeteria. “The tickets are limited” to meet the fire code safety regulations, she said.
River Hill High has about 1,400 students.
Seelaus did not know how many tickets were purchased for students from other schools, nor did she have a figure for the number of River Hill students who couldn?t purchase tickets.
On Thursday, tickets for dance, which were being sold during the school?s lunch period, sold out, leaving some students upset.
School Board Member and River Hill High parent Diane Mikulis said her son purchased a ticket, but she read about grumblings from other parents on a school computer electronic mailing list.
“They said several hundred students were turned away,” Mikulis said.
Seelaus also said the school?s principal was supposed to address the needs of seniors at the school who didn?t get tickets.
Wossen Ayele, student member of the School Board, said oftentimes teenagers wait until the last minute to purchase tickets for school events.
“They should try to get their tickets purchased earlier,” he said.
He also said the number of students from other schools attending another school?s event should be limited.
“I understand a lot of Centennial High School students attended River Hill?s homecoming,” he said.
Principal William Ryan could not be reached for comment because the school system was closed for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
