TONTOGANY – Grab the popcorn and a drink because graduation for Otsego Local Schools is going to be like
a drive-in movie.
The school board approved the plan at Thursday’s meeting, held at the high school.
The event will be held May 24, the original date for graduation.
“Thank you for making the best of a terrible situation,” said board member James Harter.
Principal Kevin O’Shea said that an inflatable screen, 40 feet by 60 feet, will be installed on an angle
on the south side of campus. Vehicle parking spots facing southwest will be taped off in the lot behind
the auditorium entrance.
FunFlicks from Cleveland has been hired to set up the screen
Vehicles will be allowed in off Scott Road starting at 8:30 p.m. They will enter the parking lot to the
tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” The ceremony will start around 9, or once it gets dark.
There are 140 seniors and 170 parking spots. Each graduate will be allowed one parking pass, but for
families that may require two vehicles, requests may be made to the school.
It will be first-come, first-served parking, but the route will not be opened until 8:30, O’Shea said.
Vehicles will be spaced 10 feet apart, front to back, side to side. The audio will be transmitted through
an FM station.
“So they can hear the ceremony in their cars and see the ceremony on the screen in front of them and
basically hold a graduation ceremony in our parking lot,” O’Shea said.
No one will be allowed to exit their vehicle, and sheriff’s deputies will be on hand to enforce that
rule.
“There is no opportunity for large gatherings,” O’Shea said.
Fireworks, compliments of the booster groups, class funds and post-prom, will complete the ceremony and
the vehicles will exit out Tontogany Creek Road.
The ceremony should last 45-60 minutes.
O’Shea said he worked with the Wood County Health Department and Wood County Sheriff’s Office to make
sure they were adhering to all guidelines.
“They signed off and said they absolutely would approve of doing a ceremony like this,” he said. “Of
course the safety of our entire community … was at the forefront of all of this, so we’re hoping on May
24 we get to do a parade and a commencement ceremony here on campus.”
The one hurdle may be the weather. As of Thursday, no rain date had been set.
O’Shea said the screen can withstand up to 15 mph winds.
If the ceremony is unable to happen, he has begun the process of digital senior photos for a virtual-only
ceremony.
Seniors are being invited into the school this weekend in 10-minute increments to be taped crossing the
stage in the gym and receiving their diploma cover. Diplomas will be mailed later this summer.
Those tapes will be spliced together along with student and faculty speeches and shown at the ceremony.
“The teacher tribute video is pretty cool,” O’Shea said. “I think it’s going to be one they remember.”
Performances by the band and choir will not be taped but the typical student video will be made and
shown. Honors will still be awarded for grade point and military appointment.
“Thank you for all the hard work you put into this,” Harter said. “This is a huge sacrifice they made
this year.”
A parade through the district’s communities will start at 1 p.m. at the high school. It will travel
through Tontogany then head to Weston, Grand Rapids and Williamsburg on the River. The caravan will
disperse in Haskins.
O’Shea said he expected 150 vehicles to follow the course map done by the sheriff’s office.
“The sheriff’s office estimates anywhere from two to three hours,” he said.
All five sheriff auxiliary members will donate their time on the holiday weekend for the parade.
The Class of 2020 is getting a 40-mile parade, which O’Shea thought was fitting. He is encouraging the
vehicles be decorated.
There is no getting out of vehicles are any gatherings, he warned.
“It’s just something for them to close (the year) out with,” O’Shea said.
