High School Charging for Prime Seats at Graduation

Money is tight this year at Manatee High School in Florida, so much so that seniors have to pay $20 for the privilege of taking part in their own graduation ceremony next month. And parents who want a good view have to open their wallets, too, reports the Bradenton Herald. In advance of the May 31 graduation, the school has sold prime seating at the school stadium for $200 a row. Each row seats about 15, meaning about $13 a person. The school, looking to defray costs of the ceremony, sold out its 10 best rows in four hours.

Across the country, meanwhile, another high school is having money problems of another magnitude. Allen High School in Texas says it will not be able to use its $60 million football stadium because of safety issues, reports the Dallas Morning News. Yes, that's $60 million. The stadium opened in 2012 after voters in the rich Dallas suburb approved its funding, notes USA Today, but cracks soon started showing up in the concrete. Builders are working on a fix, but the school's powerhouse football team has to play home games in Plano in the meantime. (More Florida stories.)