Letter to the Editor
If you are questioning whether an auditorium addition to your school is a wise investment I?Äôd like to share our experiences here in the Dassel-Cokato community. Our auditorium was a part of $11.9 million bond referendum in 2002. The funds from that bond were used to upgrade technology, improvements to athletic fields and playgrounds, expanded band and choir space, a varsity gymnasium/PE facility and an 800-seat auditorium. Our referendum passed but by only 3 votes. Many of those who voted ?Äúno?Äú now admit that they never imagined how much the auditorium would be used and how it would add to the quality of life in our community!
A professional performance space will provide obvious benefits to your fine arts students, not to mention those watching them perform. We continue to be amazed, however, by the unexpected benefits our auditorium provides. After a 14-year hiatus because of not having a performance space our local community theatre finally had a home and began producing plays again for community members to participate in and/or attend. (Last year our theatre troupe won both the Minnesota and our regional competition and moved on to compete in the national community theatre competition, bringing home several awards.) Before construction was even completed community members started an arts association to bring affordable, quality entertainment right here to our own backyard for all ages to enjoy. The arts bring people to your community.
According to our school?Äôs facility use records, our auditorium and adjoining area were in use over 2,600 hours in 2014. Besides occasional speech and theatre class activities, student concerts, music contests, programs and theatrical productions, it is also used for large exams, staff meetings, athletic/activity eligibility meetings, Baccalaureate and awards programs, staff scholarship fund-raisers, end-of season sports activities/celebrations and more. Even the referees hired for athletic events use the auditorium dressing rooms for a private shower and a quiet haven.
Senior citizens are a huge segment of our population and now, more than ever, want to stay active and involved in our communities and our schools. Auditoriums are handicap accessible, have comfortable seating and good sight lines, great acoustics and assistive listening devices (now required in these spaces.) Auditoriums bring all ages into your building and even onto your stage.
Our auditorium generates income for the school district far more than anyone ever expected. The local arts association rents it as well as other amateur and professional performers such as Lorie Line. Churches rent it for special services, concerts and youth events. It?Äôs rented by dance studios, businesses for large meetings and conventions and other groups for programs and concerts. It?Äôs also been rented by organizations for huge multi-day conventions. A large performance/meeting space brings people to your community and generates income for your school.
If you build it they will come! When you bring people to your community they spend money in your local businesses, rent your facilities, support your local athletes and performers, and may just decide Kimball is the place they want to raise their family. As the Dassel-Cokato community has discovered, our auditorium was a very wise, long-term investment not only for our school but for our entire community.
Colleen Compton, Dassel
Dassel-Cokato Community
Education Programs Coordinator