CHS Prom Cancellation

CHS Prom Cancellation
Posted on 06/08/2020
CISD Red Bevel Apple

To: Castleberry High School Seniors and Parents
From: Cathy Williams, CHS Principal

With the ongoing COVID-19 health risks and continued restrictions set forth by Governor Abbott which requires 6 feet of ongoing social distancing in groups of 10 or more, we have elected to cancel prom. This is not how any of us planned your senior year would go. The governors most recent state guidelines for social distancing can be found on the Texas Department of State Health Services website with the most closely related venue being performance halls.

As of June 7, 2020 there were 75,000 cases in 235 counties in Texas including 6,000 in Tarrant County. Due to the following concerns the decision was made to cancel prom.

  • The health and safety of our students.
  • Social distancing restrictions/guidelines.
  • Cancellations statewide from school districts.
  • Risk of venues losing their license due to lack of compliance from customers/guests enforcing social distancing
  • Additional catering expenses equalling approximately $3,000 to $4,000.
  • Students who are already off for summer.
  • Students who have already left the metroplex for military service and college summer sessions.
  • Additional expense for students still needing to buy tickets during tough financial times.
  • Risk of a $1,000 fine for the inability to maintain social distancing of 6 feet during the event.
  • Limited number of tickets sold- 97 and additional tickets and 3-4 weeks of planning still required.
  • Risk of low turnout due to safety concerns.
  • Staff who are off for summer and/or work 2nd jobs resulting in a lack of chaperones.

To protect the public's health and well-being, the Texas Department of Health is recommending large, crowded gatherings of public events that include 10 people or more to be postponed or canceled. These events include concerts and conferences, as well as professional, college, and school sporting events.

We want you to know that this decision was not made lightly and we had hoped we could still hold this memorable event. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this will cause out students and families. Castleberry High School remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of our students, staff, and community. We have worked with the district administration on a process for refunding prom ticket amounts to students and their parents.

To process ticket refunds the district is asking for parents to complete the following two forms for the refund amounts to be directly deposited into your personal accounts.

We will also provide these forms to parents/students on June 16 during Senior ticket pickup for graduation. You can email the completed forms to Sophie Espeleta at [email protected] or drop them off at the CISD Administration building between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Refunds could take up to two weeks to process before posting to your accounts. For more information, or other questions regarding this process, please feel free to contact the senior sponsor Ms. Zachary via email at [email protected] or contact the campus at (817)252-2100.