MARLIN, Texas (FOX 44) – Marlin High School seniors did not get their high school diploma last Thursday as planned. Today, we spoke with the Superintendent and he said the new graduation date is Thursday, June 22nd at 5pm.
The school decided to postpone graduation until late June to give students adequate time to complete coursework and make up absences.
Superintendent Dr. Darryl Henson is involved in the graduation audit process. A little over a week ago, he noticed that only 5 out of 33 students met the requirements for graduation. On Monday, he called a senior meeting.
“We encouraged every student. They still have three days left to complete all attendance requirements and course completion. Now, that evening we were notified via via Facebook that there was a major concern that graduate season was potentially going to be postponed. Now, mind you, a decision had not been made yet,” says Dr. Henson.
The superintendent says information from social media and the media led the district to postpone graduation. As of today 29, students have met graduation requirements outlined by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Some Marlin community members are upset about the abrupt change in graduation plans. Families felt blindsided by the news, believing it was a failure of leadership and accountability.
Marlin Native Joe Berzoski was also upset by the news and says the children were used as the scapegoats, “I got the GoFundMe started, so I said, I’m putting in $500. I’m not rich, retired teacher, I’m driving busses, but I’m gonna do whatever I can to help I wanted to do something for these kids. I wanted to show them to show there’s somebody out there that believes in them.”
The former teacher hopes the GoFundMe page will result in a scholarship fund to provide Marlin seniors financial help and hope for their future academic pursuits.