The Gloucester County School Board voted unanimously on Oct. 28 to schedule its 2026 high school graduation at Kaplan Hall (William & Mary) on Sunday, June 7 at 3 p.m.

Board members adopted the date after hearing staff presentations on capacity, parking and costs for an indoor venue outside Gloucester. Staff said a prior survey of students and parents showed strong support—roughly 88–89%—for moving graduation to an indoor facility outside the county. Staff also noted Saturday availability at William & Mary was limited because nearby school systems had booked that date, and that a Sunday afternoon ceremony would be more convenient for many families.

The board’s discussion focused on logistics. Staff reported that usable seating at Kaplan/William & Mary for the ceremony was estimated at about 4,000 (the full arena contains more seats but the venue does not use all seating areas for staged ceremonies). Parking on site was estimated at roughly 1,000 spaces and could be further limited by ongoing construction; staff described the option of renting a farther lot (about a seven-minute walk) or purchasing additional parking access, at extra cost. The event planner recommended transporting students by bus; staff provided a current quote of eight school buses one way and said using buses had been a customary practice.

Staff cautioned that the venue contact could not provide a single exact usable-seat number during the briefing; the planner described overall arena capacity in round terms and said final usable seating depends on stage placement and sightline restrictions. Ticket allocation per graduate was not fixed in the presentation; board members said their experience at similar-size venues suggested each graduate could likely receive around 10 tickets, but staff did not confirm a firm per-graduate ticket allotment from the venue at the meeting.

The presentation included a list of anticipated costs and services. Items noted by staff: a facilities-and-decorations line in the estimate (presented as roughly $8,500 in total for facility plus drapery/decor), an estimated security/police cost (about $3,300), and a ticket-and-program printing line that staff described as $135 for the order (the presenter said that was not a per-ticket price but the cost to produce the full set of printed tickets/programs). Audio-visual services (sound and screens) were included in the facility package; streaming or recorded-video services were not confirmed and would require additional inquiry. Staff said they would explore options to offer shuttles or additional bus service for families, noting that adding return transportation would increase costs because drivers would be paid to wait.

After discussion, a motion passed without opposition to set the date and time: Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 3 p.m. Staff said they will finalize arrangements with William & Mary, confirm seating and ticket allocations, and return with more precise cost and logistics information. The board also asked staff to post the venue information and survey results on the Gloucester County Public Schools website and to solicit a quick date-preference response from seniors (Friday vs. Sunday) to finalize scheduling details if needed.

Board members emphasized contingency planning: if William & Mary plans fall through, Duke Stadium (Gloucester High School stadium) would remain the fallback option. Staff will provide updated parking, ticketing and transportation proposals before contracts are finalized.