School Board Hears Out Concerned Parents On Proposed High School Auditorium

Music and the performing arts are an integral part of any community.

If Monday night’s State College Area School District board meeting is any indication, that sentiment rings true in this town.

A group of about 20 concerned citizens and boosters for student music programs came out to discuss issues with the 60 Percent Design plan for the high school renovation program.

Specifically, the group detailed problems with the proposed Arts Performing Auditorium detailed in the 60 percent plan. They brought up issues ranging from public access to the facility, to the acoustics, to the stage design, to logistical issues that could arise with the loading dock. 

Scott Thomas, a Ferguson Township resident representing the State College Music Boosters, provided an in-depth and detailed roundup of the attendee’s primary areas of concern.

Some of those areas included the addition of a balcony, which could greatly alter acoustics, and a lack of storage space for things like choir risers and set pieces.

“We are here not in an adversarial role. Together, we are smarter than we are individually,” Thomas says. “I am hoping that we can come together to come up with some innovative solutions to some of these problems before the 60 percent plan is set to be completed.”

Sue Tighe also spoke at the board meeting, representing BRAVO!, a parent booster club for the State High Thespians. Tighe says that the club is “not jazzed” about the 60 percent plan.

“Once again, the district has been rated one of the best communities in the country for music education, for the 11^th year in a row,” she says. “It looks like we wrote a community check and now key elements are being sacrificed. We are not trying to place blame in any way. We are trying to bring everyone to the table to solve the problems we see in this new plan.”

Tighe also sent a 12-page report to the school board, detailing the major concerns that local parents and boosters have with changes made to the proposed auditorium in the 60 percent plan. Some of those include the removal of storage space, a rock ensemble classroom, a main lobby with a parking lot level entrance, and natural light from the space.

Noah Beattie-Moss, a student who wasn’t available to attend the meeting, wrote the board a letter voicing similar thoughts on the proposed auditorium.

“This renovation is our one big chance for decades to come to improve already insufficient music facilities,” he says. “Imagine what heights the music teachers and student musicians could attain with facilities that are equal to their dedication and talent.”

Beattie-Moss says that the district deserves the chance to see its music program soar. He adds that the current plan will hold the program back rather than allow it to thrive. 

Superintendent Bob O’Donnell thanked the speakers. O’Donnell stresses that the incremental planning of the high school project exists so that concerns can be fixed prior to a finalized plan being implemented.

“The board will ensure that we work through this and all of the feedback will help define if we change directions on some of these things,” O’Donnell says. “We appreciate you coming in, especially from the experience of some very involved parents.”

The board also discussed preliminary plans for a tax rebate program. The proposed program would allow the district to match state rebates up to $650 for district property owners. The board voted 6-2 in favor of endorsing the proposed program. The final proposal will be presented at the April 27 board meeting and voted on at the May 4 meeting.

School district business administrator Randy Brown was also on tap to discuss Governor Tom Wolf’s proposed state budget. Estimates from the governor’s office project $826,000 in additional state funding to the district, $526,000 of which would go toward charter schools. The rest of the money would go toward restoring the Accountability Block Grant, basic education funding, and special education funding.

Brown says that those numbers will likely be decreased during political negotiations as the state budget is finalized.

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