The days and venue for three schools, two of which are in the West Zone, have changed for this year’s graduation class.

Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said the district and one local arena were not able to come to a contractual agreement for graduation, specifically over liability insurances.

“Therefore, we are no longer using the graduation venue for the graduation seasons. Both the high school and the legal team worked hard to land a particular contract. Without a contractual agreement, we can no longer graduate at one of the facilities,” he said.

Fort Myers High School, Gateway High School, and Lehigh Senior High School graduate at one of the largest venues the district has in place.

“Those graduation ceremonies will now move to the second largest where we can still accommodate schools and guests to Alico Arena,” Bernier said. “The ceremonies will be on the same date, but at a different location.”

Due to this move, three schools — Cape Coral High School, South Fort Myers High School and Ida S. Baker High School’s graduations have changed in location and date. Bernier said three days have been added to the graduation schedule – Thursday, May 16, Monday, May 20, and Tuesday, May 21.

Bernier said there are cost savings associated with the change.

“The larger arena has been very expensive for us to utilize, but that is not the reason. It was about accommodating the classes, schedules,” he said.

The other graduation dates are set for Friday, May 17, Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19.