Huntley High's Winter Formal Fizzles

Lyla Weir stood out in her formal, white gown as she and her sisters strolled around this weekend’s Huntley Chamber expo.

The Huntley High School senior was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

“We’re protesting,” Weir said.

She decided to wear the dress she purchased for Huntley High School’s winter formal dance in protest of the school’s decision to cancel the dance at the last minute, she said.

Lyla Weir purchased tickets, bought her outfit and got her nails done for the Saturday, Feb. 26 dance only to learn during sixth period on Friday, Feb. 25 that the dance was cancelled.

Lyla Weir planned to go with her sisters, Alyssa Weir and Sarah Pellerino, who lives out of state but made a special trip for the dance. A fourth friend also dressed up in protest.

The announcement came Friday but the reasoning was not very clear, Weir said. The cancellation had something to do with only 60 tickets being sold, she said. She didn’t feel that was a good enough reason to cancel, especially on short notice. The group had already spent money on dresses and getting ready for the dance. They are now out of the money, said Lyla Weir, who added she did get a good deal on her dress.

“They should have had it (the dance)” anyway, Lyla Weir said.

Huntley High School has three major dances: homecoming, winter formal and prom. Principal Dave Johnson said the school had a lack of advance ticket sales so the dance was cancelled.

Huntley High School, with an enrollment of approximately 2,300, had never had such a low turnout for a dance, said Tom Kempft, teacher and freshman student council advisor.

“We hoped there were more tickets sold on that Friday, we needed 100 more tickets, and there were not,” Kempf said. “We couldn’t justify spending $1,200 for the DJ and $800 on the supervision for” 60 teens.

Students got a refund on the $10 ticket, he said.

It’s the first time the winter formal dance has been cancelled, he said. This dance is not the most popular, but it usually draws 250 teens, he said. He doesn’t understand what happened this year.

“A lot of them (students who got refunds) were indifferent,” Kempf said. “That was what was disappointing. I wish more people were interested, but the kids were like `I’ll do something else on Saturday.’ It was a very weird situation.”

“I just can’t get my head wrapped around it,” said Kempf, who added he wasn’t sure if the theme, black and white, didn’t strike a chord with students or if it was the time of year. Other schools, like Barrington High School, have big winter formal dances that bring out lots of kids, he said.

Lyla Weir wore her dress to school Monday and Kempf thought it was good way to make a statement that he hopes will resonate with other students. He said another dance could be scheduled before prom, which continues to be a big tradition at Huntley High, if there’s enough interest.

“I’m glad anytime we have students who feel strongly and will do something to make their opinions known,” Kempf said.