Parents outraged after ticket holders turned away from graduation ceremony

The Swartz Creek class of 2018 held their graduation ceremony Sunday night at The Whiting in Flint.

School officials said it wasn't until after the ceremony they were made aware of a "troubling" situation involving the staff and their handling of tickets at the door.

"Shortly before the ceremony was about to start, the Whiting staff at the door denied entry to a handful of our families who had tickets. Additionally, some of the event staff at the door did not appropriately check tickets prior to entry," Superintendent Benjamin Mainka wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Jacob Ross was at the Whiting to see his cousin graduate. He posted a video on Facebook showing a man arguing with a staff member at the Whiting about the issue.

The staff member and the man are heard shouting at each other in the video which has been shared more than 700 times.

Ross said students were given five tickets each – four white tickets to see the graduation ceremony at the Whiting, and one red ticket for a family member to watch the ceremony from the Sloan Museum.

Mainka said they are "deeply concerned" with the way the Whiting staff handled the situation.

"SCCS does not endorse this behavior, and it was certainly not our wishes that this situation be handled this way. Had the district staff been made aware of this situation as it was happening, it would have been immediately corrected," Mainka wrote.

School officials said they're now looking into all possible options and solutions for future graduation ceremonies.