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Kataba Ridge senior urges Fort Mill board to reserve a graduation chair for classmate who died in February
Summary
A Kataba Ridge senior told the board that his friend Colton Brown, who died Feb. 20, 2026, should be honored with a reserved chair at graduation; the district said it would work with the school and answer within a week.
Ethan Mugglesson, a senior at Kataba Ridge High School and vice president of the school's FFA chapter, told the Fort Mill School District board he and more than 2,000 petition signers want the district to reserve a graduation chair for his friend, classmate and Eagle Scout Colton Brown, who died Feb. 20, 2026.
"What happened to his chair, I don't know," Mugglesson said. "The least you can do for him and his family is honor him and his friends as well." He said the absence of a reserved chair compounds grief for classmates and the Brown family and asked the board whether the decision stemmed from district, county or state policy.
Board members did not debate the legal authority at the meeting but told Mugglesson that district administration would work with the school principal and provide "an answer in the next week" on a respectful, meaningful way to honor the student at commencement.
The exchange took place during the public participation portion of the board's regular meeting, where members of the public are allotted about three and a half to four minutes each. The board did not take formal action during the public comment period; its pledge to follow up came from district administrators present after the comment.
