Pleasant Valley High School graduation ceremonies will move across the Mississippi River this year to the iWireless Center, providing additional seating and air-conditioned comfort for parents and family members.
The school board at its January 14 meeting gave the okay to use the larger venue for the high school graduation to be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, May 26.
Davenport high schools have used the 10,000-seat convention center in past years, often sharing the rental on one day to lower the cost of using the facility. This would mark the first time Pleasant Valley has used the convention center for graduation.
Bettendorf High School ceremonies, like Pleasant Valley, have been held in the high school auditorium in past years. However, neither venue is air-conditioned and the size of the gyms limit the number of people who can attend graduation ceremonies. Often, only immediate family members are able to attend graduation.
The Pleasant Valley school board also is exploring the possibility of air conditioning part of the gym for use for graduations in future years. Air-conditioning the gym would allow the district to control the date, which was one of the biggest drawbacks to leasing other space.
For $50,000, air conditioning can be provided in the ABC gym (where the ceremony has been held) but not D gym, Supt. Jim Spelhaug told the school board. However, such limited air conditioning equipment would not provide have the capacity to provide everyday use of air conditioning for the space, he told board members.
