MacArthur parents furious after being locked out of graduation, DPS is 'truly sorry'

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Graduation day at MacArthur High School Saturday did not go as planned. Many parents, grandparents, and friends were locked out of the ceremony after waiting in line for over an hour.

"I think was the word that I in that moment was desperation," said Liz Alatorre, the mother of two young men graduating that day. "I was like, 'How do I get in there and see my kid?'"

Alatorre says her family showed up 30 minutes before the ceremony was set to begin. After waiting in line for an hour, they finally made it to the front, only for the doors to be shut and locked on them.

"They ended up pushing us out of the corridor and locking the doors, and I lost it because they said, I'm sorry," Alatorre recalled. "That's it. I'm sorry. All they kept telling us is we're sorry. We're sorry."

She was never given an explanation for why she and other parents were not allowed in.

Alatorre missed her first son's name being called. He was the first in their family to graduate.

"You know, me and his father both didn't graduate high school," she said. "This is a huge deal. And I'm not the only family that was dealing with adversities like that."

Eventually, she snuck in a side door in time to see her second son walk across the stage.

On Tuesday, Decatur Public Schools released a statement that said administrators "sincerely apologize for the inconvenience experienced by some families during MacArthur High School’s graduation ceremony."

The statement continued, "Graduation should be a day of joy and pride for both students and their families. The delays that occurred during this time were unacceptable and the District is truly sorry for those parents and family members that missed parts of graduation due to this.

"We are reviewing our procedures to ensure a smoother and more accessible experience for all families in the future"