WEEDSPORT - It was a day that made Weedsport Central School District Board of Education member Norm Chirco proud.

Last week, Chirco, along with district superintendent Shaun O'Connor and other school administrators and staff, attended a ceremonial graduation for high school student Caitlin Green at her Weedsport home so her mother, battling colon cancer, could see her graduate.

The ceremony came just in time, as Green's mother, Linda MacDonald, passed away on April 29, just a day later.

“I saw (Linda),” Chirco said during a scheduled board meeting Monday. “She was making jokes during the whole thing, and within 24 hours she died. It was almost as if she was waiting for that.

“Someone had tremendous forethought to put that all together. It was a pretty proud moment for me.”

Weedsport High School Principal Helen White said a student had suggested a ceremonial graduation and organized it.

Green wore her cap and gown, received her diploma and took family pictures, White said.

She applauded district leaders for giving MacDonald a chance to see her daughter graduate.

“It was a class act,” she said. “These gentlemen acted more than professional, in my opinion. Their mothers would be very proud of them.”

In other news:

• Board members got the chance to see the Weedsport Junior/Senior High School Tee Structure Division III team for Odyssey of the Mind perform just weeks ahead of the World Finals next month.

The team qualified for the World Finals, to be held May 31 to June 3 at the University of Maryland following a regional competition at the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services Regional Education Center in March.

• A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 13, in the board room located in the Weedsport Junior/Senior High School, 2821 E. Brutus St., Weedsport.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net