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This year, Rio Rancho High School's graduating seniors won't have to drive miles to The Pit, and instead can walk the aisle in a new arena in their own hometown.

Sound good? Well, not to everyone.

For some of the nearly 700 graduates and their families, the decision to hold commencement exercises at the Santa Ana Star Center instead of The Pit has one big problem.

The new place isn't big enough.

"I ordered 40 invitations," said Tony Maez, whose son will graduate from Rio Rancho High School during the May 19 ceremony. "I'm a divorced parent. My ex-wife has her family. Things like this they should have considered. Now I'm telling my relatives to wait and see what happens."

The Santa Ana Star Center, which opened in November, will hold 5,500 of the graduates' family and friends, while the The Pit held 11,000 for the ceremony last year, said Bill Duncan, Rio Rancho High activities director.

The limited space has prompted a collection of angry parents to air their opposition publicly. Some even formed a blog to express their distaste over the move.

"The decision should have been made before rather than after families have begun planning," a parent wrote on the blog, at rioranchogradsunite.blogspot.com.

Kim Vesely, spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said the change was made so students can have graduation in their hometown.

"For many years we've had many inquiries about holding graduation in Rio Rancho," she said. "With the opening of the Santa Ana Star Center, we were able to do it."

Because of the smaller number of seats available, the district will allow graduates a limited number of guests, Duncan said.

Originally, six tickets were to be issued to each graduate this year. That has since been increased to eight tickets each, said Rio Rancho High Principal Richard VonAncken.

The district will make 600 extra tickets available to students, which will be distributed two at a time, starting in early May until they're gone, VonAncken said.

The ceremony will be also televised on Channel 15, Rio Rancho's public access channel.

Graduation has been held at The Pit for at least the last five years, Duncan said. Before that, the ceremony was at the University of New Mexico's Johnson Gym.

The school district originally set this year's graduation at The Pit on May 19 at 4 p.m. That changed when officials realized the same graduation date and time would be available at the Santa Ana Star Center, Duncan said.

People who oppose the facility change say they weren't involved in the decision-making process.

"It is apparent there was not enough public deliberation about this issue," one parent wrote on the blog. "A decision affecting the entire school population should have been discussed publicly so that all voices were heard prior to the decision."

Although the decision was made at the school level by the principal and the staff, parents were notified immediately in a letter, Vesely said.

The change will force families to adjust, Vesely said, but it will have some advantages.

"The graduating class is now so big that students couldn't sit on the gym floor at The Pit," Vesely said. "The (Santa Ana) center has a bigger floor. Students will be able to sit together, and it's a better facility for handicap access."

Maez says he doesn't oppose the new facility or the fact that school officials want to have the ceremony in their hometown.

But he believes parents should have been informed earlier.

"This is a big step for a kid that is graduating," Maez said. "They want their family to be there."