Senior students scramble to make prom after school mixes up date

Temple City, Calif. (FOX 11) - Prom is a day most teenagers look forward to for years. Temple City High School students were told today that tomorrow night's prom was scheduled for the wrong date.

"We were like freaking out. We started screaming," said Senior Genesis Vega, with her red lace prom dress draped over her right arm in the school parking lot.

At about 2:30 Friday afternoon, students got a message from the school saying, "due to a booking error, prom is not tomorrow, May 18th. It is actually Saturday, May 25th."

"I feel like that's totally unacceptable on their part," said disgruntled Senior Richard Fang. "For months now, they've been saying it's on May 18th, which is tomorrow, and then today they finally gave out a statement saying it's next week. I don't know how that's possible."

Parents and their teenagers frantically tried to rearrange their plans.

"It's kind of blindsided me because I was so ready and prepared and just everything being canceled - the limo - I had to reschedule everything," said Vega. "And I had to make last minute calls and everybody who I called for appointments didn't believe me."

Her mom was also upset.

"I come home from work flipping burgers, I've been up since five in the morning, I'm all excited because I'm going to take her to take pictures and then I get this call that the prom is canceled. I just started crying in the car, trying to call the district, the school, like 'is this a joke or what's going on?'"

At 4 p.m., Principal Jennifer Lashier sent out another message to Temple City Rams, saying administrators are working to keep prom this weekend. And just before 5 p.m., she sent a third message, confirming prom is back on for tomorrow at the same location, the California Science Center. Kids and parents again scrambled, this time, to try to rebook their reservations, like hair, makeup, nails, dress pick-up, tuxedo return and transportation.

"I ordered a party bus and then I had to cancel it. They had a waitlist so obviously, they called the next person and now I can't get it back. My deposit was there and he won't give me back my deposit," said Senior Abel Benitez.

Principal Lashier would not go into detail but calls the mistake a "booking error."

"I truly apologize for any of the confusion and inconvenience this caused our students and their families," Lashier said in an interview with Fox 11's Hailey Winslow.

The school has offered refunds for students who lost money in the mix-up.

Despite the mistake, many Temple City Rams are determined to make the most of prom, as they bid farewell to high school.

"It's the last time to be connected with everybody and see everybody come together as a class and just have fun together," said Genesis Vega, as she put her long red dress in the car and headed home.