The Jones Local School Council (LSC) did not approve a motion Wednesday evening to formalize a contract with Soldier Field for the Homecoming dance.
During a special meeting in the library the LSC voted 6-6 on a contract with Soldier Field with an amount no more than $140,000. 8 out of the 15 members of the council need to vote yes in order to approve the contract.
The earliest LSC can meet to vote again on the contract is next Monday, LSC Chair Sam Finkelstein said. The Homecoming dance is scheduled for Oct. 17. If the contract does not end up getting approved, the timeline for Homecoming could have to be altered to adjust for the event and other events surrounding it, Principal Kerry Dolan said during the meeting.
Homecoming was moved to Soldier Field this year in order to allow more Jones students the opportunity to attend and to bring guests, Dolan said. The venue would nearly double the 1,000 person capacity the 7th floor gym holds.
All students were automatically charged $60 to their accounts for their ticket, compared to the previous $20 price for tickets that would instead be bought in the lobby during lunch periods. While the charge will be removed if a student does not go to the dance, LSC Student Representative Priyanka Malhotra, a senior, said many students were anxious to see the charge appear out of nowhere.
The meeting lasted for three hours. LSC members argued and were split on the best way to move forward with the Homecoming venue. Dolan proposed near the end of the meeting to bring down the cost of tickets to $45 by pulling $25,000 from internal accounts alongside FOJ funding to help pay for Soldier Field. The proposal did not move any of the opposing council members to vote in favor of the contract.
Members of SGA voiced their grievances toward the venue selection to the council during public participation. Overall vice president Norah Ludwig, a senior, said that SGA was not involved in the decision to move the Homecoming dance off campus. They were blindsided when Dolan informed them of the news after they spent the summer planning and preparing for an on campus dance, she said.
600 tickets have been sold so far, Dolan said. 42 students will be receiving free tickets that indicated they could not afford the $60 charge in a form sent to students’ emails. Additional aid could be made available, although not guaranteed, Dolan said. If the Soldier Field contract is not approved, tickets would be refunded and would have to be repurchased at a later date.
