Dozens shut out of Homewood Flossmoor High School prom due to venue size

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (WLS) -- Dozens of students who have already spent money on dresses, rentals and more have been shut out of the Homewood Flossmoor High School prom due to venue size.

Senior Omani Hagerman would have been one of the students at prom this Saturday

"I've worked so hard up to this point and I feel like prom should be a night where all of that should be celebrated," she said.

The school said it had to limit the number of attendees due to a last-minute venue switch. The school had hoped to host this year's prom at the venue they'd planned on using in 2020, which was canceled due to COVID, but since then the management company sold the larger venue and could only provide its smaller space.

Omani's mother said she wishes parents had been informed sooner.

"You all always let us know, keep us in touch with everything. Why did we not know that the venue was smaller ahead of time?" Sondra Hagerman wondered. "They went through COVID, had to stay home, now senior year: 'oh prom!', 'oh, we don't have enough tickets.'"

In a message to ABC7, the school's principal said in part, "Looking forward, we will assure that a larger space is secured for Prom 2024. We are excited about this year's event, we appreciate our students' interest in and support of the event, and we will make all efforts we can to accommodate the juniors remaining on our waitlist.

With two days to go before the event, Omani and her mother hope the school finds a way to make prom accessible for all.

"It's not fair to anybody because everyone is getting involved to celebrate this day it's just been taken away from us," Omani said.

"That's why I'm rallying for the other hundred plus seniors who want to go to prom, who couldn't go. Get our kids their prom. They deserve it," said Sondra.

Omani said she and other students who were not able to get prom tickets have since made alternative plans to celebrate the milestone.