Gilmer High School’s end of the year festivities have officially been canceled.
The GHS prom was slated for last Friday, July 10 with graduation set for this Friday, but those plans took a turn after a rise in confirmed COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases in Gilmer County.
“Gilmer County Schools and Gilmer High School have been in contact with the Gilmer County Department of Health and Gilmer County Emergency Management for the past several days to make decisions regarding events scheduled to take place at the high school,” read a statement from Gilmer High’s Facebook page.
“This decision (to cancel prom, announced July 7) was made with a great amount of information pertaining to potential and confirmed cases in Gilmer County. The cases are on a continual rise due to recent events within the county, and our first and utmost concern is, and always will be, the safety of our students and staff.”
Graduation eventually suffered the same fate following a second Facebook statement July 9.
“Even though all of our events were planned in a manner to keep students and staff safe, we have been advised against holding large group gatherings (with more than 50 people in attendance) at this time, even if being held outside.
“We initially planned to have students on the field, seated six feet apart, and allow only two guests per student to accommodate social distancing requirements in the stands. Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in our community, we have been advised by officials to cancel the graduation event scheduled for Friday, July 17th.”
While the situation is not ideal, health concerns remain paramount during the pandemic to limit COVID-19’s spread.
“This is not what any of us wanted for our students,” the statement read. “We all believe in giving our students the greatest high school experiences possible, but will never risk the health and safety of anyone.
“We greatly appreciate everyone’s understanding and look forward to being able to have everyone back together soon.”
A Google document to begin the prom refund process can be found on Gilmer High’s Facebook page. Students can apply their $40 payment to the 2021 prom, transfer funds to their lunchroom account or request a full refund.