Toms River Schools Ready For In-Person Graduations

TOMS RIVER, NJ — On Friday, seniors in the three Toms River high schools will become high school graduates virtually. In July, however, they will get to celebrate that achievement with live, in-person graduations, after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that outdoor gatherings will be allowed to increase to 50o people.

"This has all been prepared for and planned for, and we're excited for that opportunity," Toms River Superintendent David Healy said.

Murphy made the announcement of the plan to increase gathering sizes on Tuesday as he announced a further relaxation of state restrictions amid the coronavirus crisis.

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The in-person graduations are tentatively scheduled for the week beginning July 6. Each school will have a day dedicated to its graduation, with multiple ceremonies scheduled to accommodate the students and guests under the 500-person limit, Healy said.

The events will be held on the football fields, and administrative staff will supervise, he said.

"Because the school year is over for contracted staff, those staff who wish to attend, participate and support are welcome," Healy said.

Each graduation ceremony will have about 120 students participating, with Toms River South and Toms River East holding three ceremonies for their approximately 350 graduates, and Toms River North anticipating four ceremonies for its 500 graduates. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

"This is a really important event for the kids and for us as educators," Healy said.

Healy had promised the Toms River schools community for weeks that the district would hold in-person graduation celebrations as soon as the state allowed them to take place. In spite of that, intense criticism from parents escalated into May, before Murphy finally announced schools would be held remotely for the remainder of the academic year.

"If we're on a field in snow, and that's what people want, then that's what we'll have," he said in May.

Further details on the ceremonies will be distributed as soon as they are finalized.

Healy also said he wished there was more flexibility provided to schools in terms of meeting the 500-person capacity, in terms of how the capacity figure is met.

For example, he said, the stadium bleacher seating should be treated as one piece separate from the student seating on the field, and seating on the track should be treated separately from the other two pieces, he said.

"We have a 4,000-seat football stadium," he said. "Let it be a percentage of the capacity." At 10 percent, that's 400 seats for guests and it's easy to space them 8 to 10 feet apart, he said. With staggered arrival and exit times and no comingling of the groups, it's possible to manage it safely.

"This would be an ehancement to the 500-person limit," Healy said. "You have to trust the professionals in districts to be able to run graduations and follow the rules."

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