Like every year, parents of seniors at Stanfield Secondary School are raising funds for Project Graduation. But unlike other times, one of this year’s fundraisers faced some controversy.
Project Graduation is an annual event parents put on to offer their graduating students a fun, safe and sober way to celebrate the end of their senior year. Donations from the community fund the event, which is not associated with the school or district, though Superintendent Beth Burton said she “absolutely endorse(s)” the concept behind the activity.
Project Graduation throughout the years has raised funds in a variety of ways. There was a poker tournament in 2017, and the sales of flower bulbs and chocolate provided funds in 2022.
And this year, parents are hoping to raise $10,000 to $15,000 through a raffle.
But when Nic Marcum, one of the parents organizing the 2025 event, posted on Facebook about raffling a Tokarev TAR 12P shotgun, community members took notice. The 12-gauge semiautomatic gun “takes the style and aesthetics of the AR/M4 rifle to the shotgun platform,” according to the company’s website.
“I’m just an enthusiast,” Marcum said, “and I know a bunch of places around here auction off rifles and bring in a lot of money from it so I figured it would be a good fundraiser.”
A safety issue?
One of the major concerns raised in Facebook comments was how the school could approve raffling a gun, given the high rates of school shootings across the Unites States. But Burton and Marcum emphasized Project Graduation is parent-run and not affiliated with the school.
Marcum’s post featured the school’s mascot, a blue and yellow tiger head, at the approval of Burton, who said the mascot has been used in previous years’ fundraisers.
“In hindsight,” Burton said in an interview Dec. 27, “that probably wasn’t my best move, and I have learned from that.”
Some people were supportive of the fundraiser, while others voiced their disbelief in the comments. Burton said there were some people confused about how the school was sponsoring the raffling of a gun, even after comments clarifying it wasn’t a fundraiser associated with the school.
After a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, Burton reached out to Marcum and suggested he consider removing the post. He responded he had taken it down, and has since been relying on word of mouth to sell the remainder of the initial 250 raffle tickets.
“School shootings have become more prevalent than anybody would like to see and I feel like it’s a tragedy,” he said. “But we are taking all the precautions.”
Marcum said the raffle meets all legal requirements, requiring the winner to be at least 18 years old and pass the legal background check with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as undergo a waiting period before receiving the shotgun.
Burton echoed Marcum, adding it seems reasonable for members of the community to be interested in the TAR 12P as a prize.
“A lot of our students at the middle school and high school miss some days of school because they go hunting, depending on what tag they’ve drawn with their family,” she said, “so I don’t think the outdoorsman (or) sportsman stuff is way far removed from our community.”
At the same time, she said, teaching hunter safety and how guns work isn’t the role of the school. She said she hopes people with concerns reach out to her, as her goal as superintendent is to create a safe environment and atmosphere for students as well as communit
“School shootings have become more prevalent than anybody would like to see and I feel like it’s a tragedy,” he said. “But we are taking all the precautions.”
Marcum said the raffle meets all legal requirements, requiring the winner to be at least 18 years old and pass the legal background check with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as undergo a waiting period before receiving the shotgun.
Burton echoed Marcum, adding it seems reasonable for members of the community to be interested in the TAR 12P as a prize.
“A lot of our students at the middle school and high school miss some days of school because they go hunting, depending on what tag they’ve drawn with their family,” she said, “so I don’t think the outdoorsman (or) sportsman stuff is way far removed from our community.”
At the same time, she said, teaching hunter safety and how guns work isn’t the role of the school. She said she hopes people with concerns reach out to her, as her goal as superintendent is to create a safe environment and atmosphere for students as well as community members.
“I don’t think the intent was to create something that would eventually cause a tragedy or create some sort of unsafe scenario,” she said. “We are not, you know, handing out guns to students as they walk in the door. We have a policy around weapons at school.”
Burton reiterated the school did not make the flyer nor sponsor the event, and she said she believed the whole thing was well-intentioned.
Marcum said he understands concerns that it was school-related, but it’s not.
“It’s me and other parents doing what we need to do to fund the kids’ night,” he said.
