If dancing the night away at Prom the week before they’re free of high school forever is what Wenatchee High School seniors had envisioned for the end of this school year, they should think again. Prom 2015 has been moved from the last weekend in May to April 25.

UPDATE: Celebrezze has now rescheduled Prom to its original date of May 30. Click here to read more.

Junior class president Megan Sand said that the move was in part to accommodate graduating seniors by not putting too many activities together at the end of the year, discourage partying at the end of the year, and avoid two weekends spent at the Town Toyota Center, Prom and graduation. The junior class senate is in charge of Prom preparations.

“We were trying to stay away from the very end of the school year, so close to finals, so close to commencement,” Principal Bob Celebrezze said. “I was concerned about it being so late in the year. Finals impact a lot of kids. [In the future] April or early May makes sense to me, a late May [Prom] does not.”

ASB Secretary Tami Walters said April 25 was the best weekend the Town Toyota Center could offer considering the possibility that the Wenatchee Wild hockey team makes it to playoffs, in which case the cost of Prom would go up, due to necessary floor coverings of the ice.

Sand was told this could cost up to $1,000 more.

Senior class president Andy Johnson is upset with the date change, and is submitting a formal complaint via email to Celebrezze.

“I’m just going to talk about how on April 25 there’s a lot of conflicting competitions going on. There’s Solo and Ensemble for both band and choir, the State competition in Ellensburg that day, the Sports Med [State] competition, there’s DECA Nationals that day, there’s a field trip that day, and I added it up and there could be as many as 90 people that wouldn’t be able to go to Prom, including me,” Johnson said. “But I just don’t think that’s right especially because it’s our senior Prom and it’s always worked out on the 30th, there’s never been issues with it being on the 30th, nobody’s ever been hurt or anything and I always thought it was a nice way to kick off our last week of high school with Prom right before graduation.”

More staff will be paid as chaperones this year, Walters said. That’s why tickets prices are going up by $5, to $25 per person.

“I think it’ll be fine,” Walters said. “The first year of everything [is different], we’ll have to go through it and see.”

Walters also said that moving Prom is more convenient for her as the end of the year gets “crazy” with everyone doing last-minute payments.

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“I don’t know if it’s the best idea,” Sand said, adding that the move was not her choice. “I think [the seniors] should end their year with a grand finale and have a fun last few weeks. It’s just a month, it’s not a significant change, [but] I feel like kids would want it more towards the end of May.”

April 25 is the weekend of the Sports Medicine State competition, DECA National Conference, Solo and Ensemble State for band and choir, and is during the time period of the new Washington State Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing for all juniors, although there will be no testing that day, Celebrezze said. It is also the day of the Apple Blossom Youth Parade.

“I don’t want seniors to be missing out on their senior Prom, and it’s not fair to make them choose between one or the other if you’ve worked really hard to make it to State for whatever you’re competing in and then you have your senior Prom,” Johnson said. “[You] have to make a decision.”