REEDLEY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Paola Reynoso says she was one of around 50 people unable to see their loved ones’ high school graduation because Kings Canyon Unified School District locked them out.
Paola Reynoso says she was kept out of the Kings Canyon High School’s graduation ceremony at Reedley High School’s stadium on Tuesday night and missed the entire event.
According to Paola Reynoso, the ticket she was given said the gates opened at 6:30 p.m. and the ceremony started at 8 p.m. – but the ticket did not state that the gates would be closed when the ceremony began.
On the evening of Tuesday, June 4, Reynoso says she left work to get to her sister’s graduation from King’s Canyon High School – but she and her family ran into unexpected delays before the ceremony.
“There was no parking,” Reynoso said. “By the time we got there, they had the gates closed on all sides.”
Reynoso says her grandfather arrived at the stadium at 8:03 p.m. and she was there at 8:10 p.m. By the time they had gotten to the gates, Reynoso says they found a crowd of people locked out with them.
“We tried to get the attention of people there,” Reynoso said. “We tried to find someone to help us.”
Reynoso says she was able to talk to a Kings County Unified employee at the gate who wanted to help but due to policy could not let them in.
“She said ‘I’m really sorry. I really would help you, but I will get in so much trouble.’”
Reynoso said if she and her family had known the gates closed earlier, they would have made arrangements to leave work earlier to be there for her sister. Instead, she and her family missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime moment – and it’s too late for her to do anything about it.
Reynoso says her sister understands why her family could not get into the ceremony – instead directing her anger at Kings Canyon Unified School District.
“They ruined a day that was supposed to be hers.”
Reynoso says she and other families are also upset at Kings Canyon Unified School District. She was able to get the signatures of many of those family members on paper outside the gates, though she says some people felt they couldn’t sign due to their ties with the district.
Reynoso says it is too late for the district to make amends and it is clear in her eyes that they do not care about the disservice done to any of the students whose families could not enter.
“They took something that was very important, something that was unique, and something so special that cannot be replaced or redone.”
YourCentralValley.com reached out to Kings Canyon Unified School District for a statement but did not receive a response in time for this article.
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