SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – At least seven Lake Brantley High School seniors are devastated after they were denied entry to their prom on Saturday.
Seminole County Public Schools said there was no glitch in the system. The school district told News 6 a ticket was canceled due to an owed balance. They said notifications were sent, but they did not specify who received them.
LBHS senior and homecoming queen Carly Quinn’s dreams were crushed when she and other students weren’t let in to their senior prom after spending hundreds of dollars to prepare for the big night.
“Growing up, I was looking forward to going to my senior prom, you know, you see it on the movies and everything,” she said. “I prepared, like I got my nails done. I did my hair and my makeup. I bought a dress and everything. To go there and to be denied into our own school’s prom was pretty, like, devastating.”
Students said when they got to prom, they were told their names weren’t on the list even though their parents were positive they purchased tickets.
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“I contacted MySchoolBucks and spoke to a representative who indicated that yes, in fact, on Feb. 22 at 8:57 p.m., to be exact, she does show that I actually went online, made a purchase for that item along with the prom ticket,” said LBHS parent Maria Rosado, whose son Jayden is the group commander for JROTC.
Carly Quinn’s mom, Christa, also shared a similar experience.
“So it said, ‘transaction complete,’” Christa Quinn said. “I saw that. I got an email. I assumed that both of my transactions were in one email. So I never checked the email and I’ve learned my lesson.”
While parents said they recognize what they could have done differently, they wish the school would have had a backup plan in case of something like this.
“Of course, I’m thinking, ‘OK, they’re going to work something out for these children,’” Maria Rosaro said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can never get them back. And unfortunately, we were met with immediately, ‘No, there’s nothing we can do. I apologize.’”
Justin Chang was denied entry with his date despite receiving a confirmation. Chang said he was told his ticket was canceled, but wasn’t notified.
“We were waiting in the sun. Like it was raining as well,” Chang said. “My suit and my girlfriend’s dress got wet, we were sweating, it was pretty awful.”
Students said they stood outside for two hours watching their classmates enjoy prom through the windows. Lake Brantley only hosts a senior prom and unless you are invited by a senior, you only get one chance to go.
“We ended up watching the crowning of the king and queen outside with our other friends on FaceTime,” Carly Quinn said.
Carly Quinn and her classmates are hoping they can enjoy prom in a different way.
“If they can work something out with the other schools in the county, if we were able to attend their prom for free or at a discounted price that would be very generous of them,” she said.
News 6 reached out to MySchoolBucks for comment but did not hear back.
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