About 1,000 Clayton County high school students walked across the stage Friday, shook their new superintendent's hand and accepted what they thought was a diploma.

They got back to their seats and opened the diploma case to find a blank piece of paper. An additional 2,000 Clayton graduates will receive similar empty folders today.

Jessica McGowan/AJC (ENLARGE)

Valedictorian Fenil Patel (left) sits alongside his fellow classmates of Jonesboro High School during commencement ceremonies at the Georgia World Congress Center on May 30, 2008.

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The reason? Clayton County Superintendent John Thompson ordered more than 3,000 high school diplomas shredded Thursday after seeing his name wasn't on them. On Friday, Thompson learned it will cost up to $50,000 to reprint the diplomas.

Thompson, who started with the district April 28, said he had the diplomas destroyed after he saw former Superintendent Gloria Duncan's name signed at the bottom.

"Your superintendent should be on your diploma," Thompson said in an interview Friday as he prepared to escort 298 Jonesboro High School graduates into the Georgia World Congress Center. "We either give them two diplomas or get the right one mailed. We decided to have them wait for the right one."

The district is negotiating with the printing company for a lower rate, but Thompson estimates it will cost between $25,000 and $50,000 to print and mail the diplomas. Students will receive their diplomas in the mail in the next few weeks, he said.

"It's no harm," Thompson said. "It's just a sense of pride, and they will have it soon."

But to Linda Trusty-Bromidge it's not soon enough. She and her husband drove more than seven hours from Clermont, Fla., to see their grandson Joshua Cash graduate from Jonesboro.

"At first I wanted to see it. I wanted to show my family," Cash said. "It's a big relief to graduate."

Cash, 17, hopes to receive his diploma by the end of the summer, when he leaves for the U.S. Army.

Dolapo Abdul, 18, said she wanted to take pictures with her diploma. "Even though it's a piece of paper, I wanted it," said Abdul, who is headed to Albany State University. "I worked for it."

Duncan, who now works as the executive assistant to Thompson, was the superintendent throughout the majority of her senior year, Abdul said. "I don't care whose name is on it," she said.

Thompson apologized for what he called a series of miscues by district employees — from the missing diplomas to the threat of losing accreditation.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave Clayton until Sept. 1 to overhaul the system or lose accreditation. The 2008 graduates are the last class to not be affected by SACS. However, each of the graduates was aware of the possible fate of classmates they are leaving behind.

Among his memories of high school, Jonesboro valedictorian Fenil Patel listed studying for AP exams, winning golf championships and "the time accreditation became part of daily vocabulary."

Tashara Brown, 18, said she was worried about accreditation up until she got accepted to Albany State. She still worries about the future of her two younger siblings, who hope to graduate from Clayton schools.

"It was emotional," said Tajuana Allen, Brown's mother. "We worry about accreditation. I didn't know if her high school diploma was good. And then it gets crazier, and they tell us we have to wait to get them. I'm just hoping they get this all straightened out."

School board Chairwoman Michelle Strong referred comments to Thompson.

Under school board policy, the board would have to vote on the new diplomas being printed if the cost exceeds $25,000. However, Thompson's contract allows him to supersede board policy.