Middletown District revising prom contracts
Administrators want parents to be aware of agreement
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
Prom season is eight months away, and the Middletown School District is working to ensure that unlike last year, the high school tradition won't end in arrests being made.

Karen Bilbao

Superintendent of Schools Karen Bilbao said at the Sept. 24 Board of Education meeting that she recently had a joint meeting with the administrators of the district's two high schools — Middletown North and Middletown South — to discuss changes in the prom contract that students sign prior to attending the prom.

"The two principals have been e-mailing each other and will have another meeting in the next two weeks," Bilbao said. "We want to give parents ample notice that we are going to be making really pretty significant changes by adding activities like graduation and graduation exercises to the prom contract."

The discussions were prompted by the arrests of 23 students for underage possession of alcohol, 22 of them from Middletown South, after last year's senior prom.

Board member Dan Skelton cited procedures followed by the Freehold Regional High School District.

"They have an administrator present who conducts a Breathalyzer when students walk into the prom," Skelton said.

Board member Kevin Ryan said that the prom contract discussion should reach all grade levels.

"Even as a sophomore parent, I would certainly like to have this contract hit me in the head a couple of times," Ryan said. "It's important that we start from the bottom up to get this message across."

Bilbao said the district would have liked to talk about the prom contract at Back to School Night but will have a specific meeting for discussion of the contract.

"We would have liked to have the prom contract available by Back to School Night, but that is the goal for next year," Bilbao said. "But now we are going to have these meetings within the next month or so, not in the spring, so that we can give parents ample notice."

When asked by a board member if the contract should have public input, Bilbao said that doing so would take the contract out of the hands of administration.

"I really do think that these are administrative responsibilities," Bilbao said. "It would not be the right approach to take, but I think it's very important that once the administrators make the decision on these contracts it is very thoroughly explained to [parents]."

After events from last year's prom, Bilbao said that administrators have had to look over the prom contract and felt that they need to get its importance across to parents.

"This year I dealt with situations where students were asked to leave the prom, and parents were very upset because they paid for them to be there," Bilbao said. "I told them, 'You signed the contract,' and then I provided a copy of the contract to them, and they told me that they don't even remember signing it."

When a student is over the age of 18, they do not need a parent's signature on the prom contract, but they have to sign the contract themselves.

She said the problem lies in the parents not knowing what they and their children have signed.

"We have to help the parents understand that they need to make sure that they receive those contracts and read them, because even though their child may be 18 years old, financially it is the parents who are taking the responsibility," Bilbao said.

She said that at future Back to School nights, the prom contract would be a topic of discussion.

"Once this becomes more routine, it could be something that would be made available in literature for parents at Back to School Night," Bilbao said. "I still think it requires separate meetings with parents to really go over and ensure that they have the opportunity to ask questions."

Board member Sherry Gevarter suggested placing the prom contracts in the report cards in January or November.

"It's getting it to the house," Gevarter said. "And going forward, depending on how long the contract is, we can place them in our handbooks."

Skelton said that since all

those who attend the prom have to sign the contract, imposing penalties on students who are not in the district may be difficult for the district, but in the end they will be held accountable.

"Aren't those guests subject to the law?" Skelton asked.

Bilbao said that she and the principals of High School North and South call the schools of the out-of-district students to let their schools know that they have broken the prom contract.

"We do contact the schools," Bilbao said. "Even this year, I made a contact, and the principals made a contact, so we have made those contacts and called their schools."

No announcement has been made for when the meetings with parents will take place, but Bilbao said notice will be posted on the district's and the schools' Web sites as well as being given out to students.

Contact Jamie Romm @jromm@gmnews.com