SHS graduation is Saturday at Memorial Field

SANDPOINT — Rain or shine, Sandpoint High School graduation will take place at Memorial Field Saturday.

In the past, the district has received complaints because so many people were unable to attend the SHS graduation when rain forced them inside the school’s gym, said SHS principal Dr. Becky Kiebert.

Students were limited to four tickets for family members, which often meant grandparents were excluded from the occasion.

Kiebert said people have told her: “I would rather have my whole family there and sit under umbrellas.”

Unfortunately, the community does not have a large enough indoor facility to accommodate the number of people who typically attend graduation.

Because it is not only difficult to rent large tents in this area and also expensive, LPOSD has opted to solve the problem by purchasing two 40x80 that it will rent out to community members, she said.

The school district expected a 40x80 tent to arrive from a Portland rental service on Thursday, said SHS principal Dr. Beck Kiebert.

Since it was too late to purchase a new tent, the price of the tent rental will be applied to the purchase, she said.

It costs between $4,000 and $8,000 to rent a tent of that size, Kiebert said.

Special accommodations also will be made for people with disabilities or special need who plant to attend Saturday’s graduation.

Those people can sit underneath the grandstand with the graduating seniors and band members, Kiebert said.

She expects 267 students to graduate from SHS, including 31 honor students. Kiebert called the graduating class a diverse and focused group.

Next year’s SHS graduating class is expected to be one of the largest with 310 students.