East Lyme — Superintendent James Lombardo said Friday he has identified a scheduling option that would keep Thursday, June 19, as the last day of school for all students except seniors.

In a letter to the school community Friday, Lombardo said the parents planning an alcohol-free party for graduating East Lyme High School seniors were able to move the celebration to Wednesday, June 18. He will now recommend to the Board of Education that the district set June 18 as the last day of school for seniors and hold the graduation ceremony that same day. All other students would end their school year the following day.

At its last meeting, the school board had discussed pushing the last day of school for all students to Friday, June 20, at the request of a parent planning the celebration. Factoring in snow days this year, the parents had locked in June 20 for the celebration, but the school year ended up concluding a day earlier. Board discussions on whether to change the last day of school to June 20 had included safety concerns about hosting an alcohol-free night after the seniors have graduated.

"Thank you so much for your feedback regarding a change in the school calendar to accommodate the senior class graduation celebration," Lombardo wrote to the community. "It is gratifying to note that the vast majority of responders indicated that we should do whatever it took to ensure the safety of our students."

The board will set the graduation date at its April 21 meeting. If approved, graduation will be held at 5:30 p.m. on June 18.