Anderson Union High School administrators announced Tuesday, April 29, that the June 6 commencement will be moved back to the school’s football stadium currently under construction.

Administrators planned at the beginning of the school year to hold graduation at Anderson River Park because construction on the stadium was set for spring and summer.

That proposed move, however, upset some parents and seniors. Holding commencement on campus is tradition. Graduation has been held on Anderson’s campus 95 of the past 99 years, parent Shelly Madsen said. “Now it’s back,” she said.

For most of the school year, seniors didn’t vocalize any opposition to the plan to hold the ceremony at the park, said Scott Booth, Anderson’s assistant principal. But beginning in April, crews began removing bleachers from the stadium.

“When the kids saw that, I think that’s when the realization hit,” he said.

A group of parents and students attended a board meeting later in the month and told trustees they were upset, suggesting the ceremony be held elsewhere on campus if the field was not available.

District and school officials last week visited a handful of the proposed alternatives, including Anderson Middle School, which is next door to the high school. Shortly thereafter, state officials rejected a portion of the planned construction, allowing the ceremony to be moved back on campus, Booth said.

“We’re very happy that we’re able to hold graduation” at the school, Booth said.