On Upper Adams School District’s priority list for the next academic year is a lighting upgrade to the high school auditorium that could cost nearly $800,000.
Anthony Graham, director of athletics and property, told the school board Tuesday that the old lighting and rigging system cannot last.
“This has been on our radar,” Graham said at the board’s business and operations committee meeting. “I wasn’t expecting the news that I got. Long story short, we can’t get bulbs in it. The lighting system on the stage in the auditorium is completely outdated.”
Adding to the urgency, Director of Business Operations Shelley Hobbs said the stage curtains are “falling apart.”
“It is actually a fire issue right now as well because they are not up to code,” she said.
Graham said while the show can go on for the moment, as light bulbs start to burn out, they will not be replaceable.
“Everything has switched to LEDs,” Graham said. “It’s a very old system. It’s an antiquated system. It uses a lot of power.”
A lighting company gave the district an estimate of $785,000 to replace the lighting, rigging and curtains, according to Graham.
“So basically, you’re updating everything on the stage back to the control room as it pertains to lighting, sound and the rigging,” he said.
High schoolers are not the only ones who use the auditorium. Graham said students from elementary through high school utilize the auditorium for concerts, plays and other events.
At this stage in the timeline, Hobbs said they would ask the board to give staff approval to continue looking into the numbers. A vote whether to spend the money would come later.
While the district had $2.1 million in its capital reserve as of Jan. 31, much of that fund is expected to go toward other high priority capital projects, according to Hobbs.
The district is in the process of replacing a wheelchair lift at the middle school, paying for turf field permits, replacing wrestling wall padding and practice mats, replacing windows at the intermediate school, and working toward repairs to a vital communications tower at Camp Nawakwa.
In addition, the board is being asked to consider funding new capital projects — replacing a mower, a 35-year-old dump truck, the training room whirlpool, carpet at the middle school, and the outdoor sign at Biglerville Elementary School.
Regarding the auditorium, board member Neil Weigle asked if the district could potentially find a used lighting system in good condition to replace their outdated one. Graham said they could explore different possibilities, but there could be liability concerns.
Graham said his goal would be to start replacing the lighting and rigging this summer in order to finish in the fall.
The school board’s next voting meeting is set for March 17 at 7 p.m.
