Nahom Kebede said he and more than 300 Tucker High School seniors paid at least $250 apiece in senior dues to pay for more than a dozen planned events during senior year and their graduation robes.
Instead, he and others said they’ve seen main events canceled and received flimsy robes unfit to wear.
“This is high school. It’s the toughest part of your life,” the 18-year-old said. “You work hard for four years, you expect to have some fun with your friends. Last year, they had an amazing time. We were ripped off. Literally.”
Parents and seniors are outraged over what they see as a failure by school administrators to hold up their end of the bargain, and a lack of accountability for the funds raised.
The school, through DeKalb County School District officials, said funds initially earmarked for events that will no longer take place were shifted to additional activities. They did not say what those additional activities would be.
“Tucker High School had two events that were cancelled in a shared decision-making process with the senior class officers,” officials said. “The Tucker High School principal will meet with any student or parent who has questions about the senior dues and how the money was reallocated.”
Parents who met with Principal Eric Parker said he had no answers for their questions.
“If a parent came to me … and all I could tell them is ‘I don’t know,’ it’s an insult,” said parent Michelle Washington. “We’re trying to figure out what’s going on with the money.”
“There are 359 students in this graduating class. Before December, they were told 80 percent of students’ dues were paid,” said Tywanna Bailey-Britt, who has several relatives graduating from Tucker High this year and one of her children graduating from the school next year. “And they keep canceling events.”
Tucker High Senior dues were expected to pay for graduation at the Georgia World Congress Center, the graduation cap and gown and several planned events, including a movie night, ice cream social and a senior dinner. Last year’s seniors had more than a dozen events and received graduation gowns with custom embroidery, the high school’s initials and tiger paw prints, for the school mascot, on either cuff. This year’s robe is a basic burgundy, with a lower thread count and no embroidery.
The dinner for this year’s seniors, scheduled April 26, was cancelled. Food brought in for the movie night on Feb. 22 instead was used to feed staff the following day, students and parents said.
Latasha Alexander’s daughter, set to graduate this year, feels robbed of memories she can never get back.
“A lot of the kids feel like this year was different from years past. They don’t even want to wear the cap and gown,” Alexander said. “That’s a lot of money for 300-plus people to pay, and your cap and gown looks like it was ordered from Amazon.”
About the Author
