A Carbon Career and Technical Institute decision to open up its prom to students in grades 9-12 has some parents concerned about safety and the impact it will have on the uniqueness of the event.

Angela Shelly, a CCTI parent, said, to her knowledge, last year was the first time a freshman or sophomore could attend the prom without being the date of an upperclassman.

“One of my biggest issues was a safety concern because you’re now putting students who have turned 18 in an off-premises function with 14- and 15-year-old students. That could be a problem. That may not always be a problem. And I understand everything went really well last year, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to continue to always go really well.”

Shelly said she’s been getting mixed responses over when the school started the current prom attendance policy.

“From the research and the people that I spoke with, before last year, it had always been for just juniors and seniors,” she said. “I don’t think that they really considered the perspective of the students because prom has traditionally been for juniors and seniors if you had to wait until your junior year and then all of a sudden anybody can go, it takes away from making it a prestigious event. Now it’s just another high school dance.”

CCTI administration was not available Wednesday morning for comment, but at a March 2021 meeting of the school’s joint operating committee, Principal Brent Borzak said they wanted to open it to all current CCTI students.

“The kids deserve a break from all they had to deal with over the last year,” Borzak said at the meeting.

The event is scheduled for Penn’s Peak later this year.

Shelly said she plans to bring up the issue at Thursday night’s CCTI joint operating committee meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. in the school’s dining room.