High school graduation turns chaotic after storm forces ceremony indoors
By Jason Burger
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A graduation ceremony took a turn for Putnam City High School graduates when incoming weather moved their outdoor graduation ceremony indoors.
Some parents described the chaos as families and students tried to figure out where to go and what to do. While no one can control the weather, families said they were frustrated, which is something the school district acknowledged.
“We sat there and watched, and then the storm comes and the lightning, and all the things,” said Tisha White, who is part of a Putnam High School family.
The graduation ceremony was already underway for Putnam City High School when Tisha said they were told to move the entire event indoors.
“They did the honors students and all of that, and then they said ‘OK, we’re announcing it. Everyone, let’s go to the auditorium,'” Tisha said.
But then a bad situation turned worse. Parents were confused, and they said they didn’t know where to go or what to do.
People were crammed into hallways that weren’t built to handle that many individuals.
“It was chaotic. It was a mess, and we probably were in that hallway for a good 20 or 30 minutes,” Tisha said.
There was another problem. No one had their tickets in hand anymore, so there was no way to tell who could get into the auditorium.
“You need the tickets to get into the stadium, and then you also needed those tickets to get into the auditorium, but yet they have our tickets because they… you know what I mean?” Tisha said.
Then, Gia White said she texted her mother that it wasn’t worth trying anymore.
“I just told her to leave and that people were fighting in the building,” Gia said.
The school district released a statement after the situation, addressing the concerns.
“We have heard you, read your messages, listened to your phone calls, and sat with the weight of your frustration and disappointment through the weekend and today. Simply put, you deserved better, and what happened Friday could have been done better. Administrators from across the District have spent the day listening and reviewing. We’ve reviewed what went wrong, how decisions were made and communicated, and how we can work to prevent this from happening again in the future,” the district said.
There were about 350 to 400 students in the class of 2026.
“I think the school was trying to text people saying this is what we’re doing, but no one was getting any text messages, because no one had service in the school,” Tisha said.
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