MHS Class of 2020 graduation apparently postponed

The December graduation proposed for 2020 graduates of Maricopa High School will be postponed again, according to Patti Coutre, a Maricopa Unified School District employee and former member of the district governing board.

In a public Facebook post on Friday morning, Coutre said the ceremony could be held May 28, 2020.

Public health restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic canceled the tradition graduation ceremony in May 2020. A drive-thru diploma distribution was held instead.

With many graduates going off to college, there was hope at the time that virus mitigation efforts would be successful enough to have a ceremony with no or few restrictions in December, when they return home for break. But COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in Arizona and nationwide, prompting local and federal public health agencies to plead for limited gatherings during the upcoming holidays.

Coutre said official communication from high school administration will be released soon.

The high school administration office referred a request for comment to the Maricopa Unified School District administration office, which did not immediately return a call to InMaricopa.com.

“If for some reason we were allowed to host a large group gathering, graduates would be limited to two guests in the stands, masks at all times, social distancing, etc…, which is not what our graduates deserve or expect,” Coutre wrote on Facebook.

A late May 2021 ceremony for May 2020 graduates would come after they have completed their first year of collegiate studies.

“By then hopefully we will have ‘normalcy’ back and we can fill the stands to celebrate our awesome Class of 2020 Graduates…” Coutre wrote. “Nothing about this year has been ideal and it is extremely sad that our graduates ended their school year the way they did or that our students started out this year with ups and downs, no extracurricular clubs, activities, dances, limited sports competitions, etc. It is doubly hard to continue to be positive and look for the silver lining when it constantly feels like storm clouds above us; but we can do this. Our class of 2020 has taught us how to be resilient and adaptable. Let’s try to look for the positives and not dwell on the negatives, we know that they are there.”

Coutré, who works as an administrative assistant in the district’s Facilities & Operations Department, was a member of the MUSD Governing Board for nearly a decade before stepping down in September to take the district job. She announced her resignation in a Facebook post.