After many conversations with different groups of parents, students, teachers, and community members — and a great deal of personal reflection — I have decided that our students will be taking buses to the prom this year. I know that this may not be a popular decision for many of our students, but I believe that it is the right decision to make at this time. This decision is supported by the school’s Administrative Team and the Paly Ed Council, which is the school’s leadership team, but I also wanted to share my thinking with you, our parents.

Over the past several years, students have not been allowed to drive themselves to the prom but have taken limos. We have contracted with several limo companies to provide this service. Last year was my first experience with the process and there were several issues. Limos vary widely in their cost depending on the size of the limo and the number if students. I believe the range was somewhere between $25 – $100 per student ….or more. The cheaper limos quickly ran out. We did provide scholarships for students who could not afford the cost. These students were required to ride a bus. There were other students who chose to ride a bus, but the majority of students rented limos. We were “guaranteed” by the limo companies that all drivers were familiar with the rules for transporting our students. It has been reported from several parents that that was not true. In addition, we dealt with a significant number of students last year who arrived at the prom under the influence of alcohol. Since the prom is in the city, it took hours for the Admin Team to deal with these students. It was not a positive experience. Although the use of breathalyzers this year will help alleviate this specific situation, the economic issues remain.

I am deeply troubled by the current economic situation – both nationally and locally – and the equity issues it raises for our school community. Every week, we hear of new lay-offs in Silicon Valley. The local unemployment rate has skyrocketed. Our Paly community has not been unaffected by this economic downturn. I have spoken to parents who are currently out of work and other parents who must now return to work after having the gift of staying home with their children for some time. There are families in our community who now have to make tough financial choices about what they can and cannot afford. We want to make sure that we have done everything we can to be as supportive as we can in these tough economic times. We also want to ensure that all of our activities are as inclusive as possible. Although there may be many families in our community were finances are not an issue and one could make the argument that students can choose whether or not to take limos or buses to the prom, I believe that it sends the wrong message. The words of our president on his first day in office have meaning for us all in these sad economic times —

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

For many reasons, I believe that taking buses to the prom is in the interest of the common good for our school community. The administration will be working with Student Leadership to work out the details and to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns about this decision, please contact me at: [email protected].

All the best,

Jacquie McEvoy