Education Minister Paul Calandra says if an Ontario school board doesn’t restore prom plans for three of its high schools that cancelled them, he will step in and do it.
Three schools in the Durham District School Board decided to cancel the traditional event due to what the principals called growing liabilities and risks connected to school-run proms.
Students reacted with anger and disappointment that they would not be able to celebrate in the way so many other students have done and continue to do.
Calandra said Thursday that his message to that board and others is: “If you’re thinking of cancelling prom, think again.”
He says prom is not just a party, it’s a celebration of students’ achievement and is a very important rite of passage that can be done safely.
Calandra says he hopes the schools and boards make those decisions on their own, but if he has to step in as minister of education to order that, he will.
