Possible 2009 High School Graduation Sites

TUSD School Board Meeting

January 20, 2009

Graduation Information and Process

• Date of graduation has been scheduled as June 17, 2009• Due to stadium construction at all four schools, sites

will not be able to host in their own stadiums• Alternative graduation sites have been explored during

the fall and winter by high school principals and activity directors with input from Dr. Mannon, Dr. Stabler and Dr. Stowe

• Principals discussed extensively with SSC, PTSA, ASB and others at each site

Alternative Graduation Sites

• Many alternatives have been explored including:– Other local high schools

– El Camino College

– Harbor College

– Individual school sites (areas away from stadiums)

– Wilson Park

– Home Depot Tennis Center

Other local high schools

• PV Peninsula, PV, Bishop Montgomery, Mira Costa cannot accommodate the number of guests expected at graduations

• Redondo HS will be under construction at the same time as TUSD stadiums

El Camino College

• The stadium at ECC is not available during our last week of school as it has been booked by surrounding school districts for their graduations.

• First available date is June 20 (Saturday)

Harbor College

• Field unavailable for rental

• Stadium cannot accommodate the number of guests expected at graduations

Individual School Sites• Not all schools have adequate space to hold ceremony

on campus• Rental items would include:

– Chairs & bleachers (min. $40,000 per site)– Sound system rental (est. $3,000 per site)

• Other items to consider:– Security of location– Handicap access to graduation area– Viewing of ceremony by guests– Location of construction staging areas– Unknown amount of overtime for custodial personnel

Wilson Park

• Area explored would be between diamonds #3 & #4• Adequate space to hold up to 5,000 people• Rental items needed would include:

– Fencing around location– Bleachers/chairs (minimum $40,000)– Sound System (est. $3,000)

• City of Torrance indicates the following impact– Cancellation/rescheduling of youth sports (300

participants) and adult sports (1050 participants)– Set up would conflict with Farmers Market (Tuesday)

Wilson Park

• Challenges:– Inadequate parking (1,200 spaces)– Handicap access to graduation area– Viewing of ceremony by guests– Separate location for students prior to event– Conflict with other City of Torrance events scheduled– Unknown costs of overtime for security and custodial

personnel– Traffic noise from Crenshaw Blvd.– Traffic congestion in and around event location and cost

of Torrance PD assistance with traffic

Home Depot Tennis Center

• Seating for up to 8,000 guests• Unlimited free parking• Costs (all inclusive) include security, set-up,

sound, chairs, stage, EMT on site, clean-up and event management

• Graduation would be on Tuesday, June 16 (1 day early)

• Maximum cost $44,300 for all 4 schools– After $9,360 in waived fees (20% discount)

Graduation Times

• Regardless of the site chosen, all graduations would be held on the same day. Times would begin at roughly 10 am and run through 7 pm.

• Principals will work with Dr. Stowe in scheduling their schools with adequate spacing between ceremonies.

• This is a practice done in many other districts in Southern California.

Staff Recommendation

• After exploring all options, staff recommends the Home Depot Tennis Center to host TUSD graduations.– Logistics require least amount of effort on

current staff as well as City of Torrance employees

– Least expensive alternative of all options explored