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The Harlan County School Board decided during a recent meeting to provide financial assistance for this year’s prom, enabling the class to keep ticket prices down.

Harlan County Schools Superintendent Brent Roark called on Harlan County High School Principal Cathy Napier to present the request to the board.

“Last year, you provided us assistance, $5,000 for the prom,” Napier said.

Napier explained the funding the board provided last year allowed the prom tickets to remain at $25 per ticket rather than increasing the price to $50 a ticket.

“I wanted you to look at again to see if we needed to go up to $50 this year or if you wanted it to give us assistance so we can keep the ticket at $25,” Napier said.

Napier provided the board with information on the cost of last year’s prom to aid in their decision.

“We can either go back to $50 a ticket or keep it at $25,” Napier said. “We cannot keep it at $25 without assistance. That’s the bottom line.”

Napier pointed out the prom will be held at Harlan County High School.

“An average prom is around $14,000 or $15,000,” Napier told the board.

A board member inquired about labor costs for the prom.

“The labor is the setup, rentals, the chairs, whatever they have to do,” Napier said.

Napier advised the students are considering a Mardi Gras theme, among other possibilities.

“I think Mardi Gras is what they’re looking at,” Napier said. “They’re trying to do something they’ve never done before. But it’s still up for debate.

The student council is trying to decide, I think they’ve narrowed it down to three.”
Roark stated to keep the ticket price down to $25, the board would have to provide $7,500 in assistance.

Following some discussion, Roark recommended providing financial assistance for the prom in the amount of $7,500. Following Roark’s recommendation, a motion was made to place $7,500 into the Harlan County High School Prom fund. The board approved the motion with no objections.