Students at Bloomington High School in Bloomington will remember their prom for all the wrong reasons. Even though their invitation clearly said April 27, every student who showed up at the Chandelier Room at Santa Anita Park this past Saturday was told the event was actually supposed to be held next Saturday.
"We thought it was a joke, OK, that's not funny," said student Selena Reyes. "When we get there, they tell us that we have to come back home and come back next weekend."
People at the venue rushed to come up with a backup plan.
"They ended up opening up a hall, shoving all the kids in there with just regular tables. I heard that they were fed chicken strips that were cold," said Reyes' mother, Diana Gomez.
The school principal, Ignacio Cabrera, said he was just as stunned. He said he's taking responsibility for the blunder, but it was a miscommunication between the school and the event planner.
"I've been the principal here for 13 years and I've never had this happen before," he said.
Cabrera said the school is in the process of rescheduling a second prom on May 18. It will be a semi-formal affair at a venue much closer to home. But students and parents said they are still upset.
"This is her last year, this is what they remember, there's no going back," Gomez said.
"They can't make up for it," said student Marcus Vargas. "Everybody paid for that day to be all super fancy. They paid for party buses and limos and things like that. They're going to have to do something pretty amazing to make up for that."
