After speculation all year, Bellevue West is having an after-prom. Parents stepped up to the challenge and created a group to get the party planned and ready. 

Scholarship coordinator Kathie Britten said that right now the group is focusing on what needs to be organized and purchased. However, once they get closer to the date of prom they will start looking for volunteers for the actual event. 

The group’s immediate needs are donations, whether it be money or prizes for the games. 

“There’s a couple of parents that are in charge of the prices and donations, and so they go around to local businesses and ask for donations,” Britten said. 

Themes are still in the works, but Britten said it will probably be a lot like last year when it comes to entertainment at the party. The times, however, are new. After-prom will run from 10:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., and if a student wants to leave within that time period a parent must call them out. 

The December issue of The Thunderbeat reported that no one had volunteered to organize the after-prom committee, and Principal Kevin Rohlfs said that organizing late would limit the possibilities of what parents can reserve for the event. Following that article, there was concern over whether an after prom would happen this year. 

Since it’s a parent-led function, no parents means no after prom.

Britten said the more parent involvement they get–especially from the sophomore and freshman parents as they will be around to plan in future years–the better.

“We’ve had this issue ever since COVID,” Britten said. “Not having prom that one year just kind got us off a consistent track.”