Prop N would fund new performing arts center in Jackson

The old auditorium at Jackson High School was built in 1939.

It was built for elementary school children.

What that means is that the auditorium wasn't built for those with long legs or a wider posterior.

It also wasn't built for people requiring a wheelchair, which is why the city's annual Veterans Day tribute is no longer held there.

The auditorium wasn't built for crowds of more than 500 people, which means it wasn't built to host full district staff meetings or lectures for the student body.

The costume closet is about as large as a walk-in closet, which means the current auditorium wasn't built to handle large theater performances.

The backstage area wasn't built for a classroom, but chorus students practice there anyway, because there's nowhere else for them to go. Sometimes that same space doubles as a changing room.

For a long time, Jackson's high school music and theater departments, and thousands who have attended their performances, have had to make do with a facility not designed for them.

Jackson School District educators believe it's past time to fix that.

Performing arts

The construction of a new performing arts facility is a major piece of one of the tax propositions the district is putting before voters Tuesday, April 4.

Proposition N, companion to Proposition I, will raise $60 million for various projects in the district, much of which addresses the district's dramatic growth, according to school officials. In addition to the auditorium, the tax measure would also pay for some 30 to 40 classrooms at the high school, safety improvements across multiple campuses and new rooms and a gymnasium at North Elementary. It will allow the district to replace leaking roofs. It will also help pay off some existing debt, which will help general operations, according to officials.

Proposition N is intended to complement Proposition I, which will increase property taxes and provide about $3 million more annually toward teacher compensation and other operation needs, including building maintenance. The pair of tax proposals require separate votes by law. The operations levy requires a simple majority vote. Proposition N, which allows the district to borrow money, needs a 4/7 majority to pass.

Proposition N would provide roughly $18 million of the $60 million proposal to build the new performance arts facility adjacent to the band room. It would be built on the grassy area the football team once used to practice. The team has moved its practices to the stadium, since artificial turf was installed several years ago.

Those who have attended performances at Jackson's current auditorium are already familiar with the seating issue. In some instances, taller individuals can find seats in the front row. Large attendees are sometimes turned away. The seats are smaller than those on airplanes.

Because of space limitations, some student music performances require lining up students along the outside aisles, where they sing and perform. This limits the ability for wheelchair access. Wheelchair-bound individuals are occasionally lifted and placed into seats.

The capacity also limits attendees in other ways. Because of the large number of students who participate in some of the performances, such as choir, students are limited in the number of people they can invite to shows.

Jackson choral director Christy Shinn said to accommodate those who want to attend the pop concert, for example, the students perform four times so all the parents can see the concert.

If a student is limited to four tickets and has two siblings, that means grandparents might not be able to attend, at least not with the rest of the family members.

More than bricks and mortar

For Shinn, Proposition N represents much more than an upgrade in a facility. The high school campus is not equipped to handle the demand for the performance arts. This creates constant logistical problems, competing with athletics and physical education classes for use of the school's gymnasium. Some 900 students are involved in some sort of musical or theater education. Shinn sees 476 students every day.

In some cases, rehearsals are taking place in the gym, while students participate in physical education classes nearby, meaning she's trying to listen to her students sing while students run, jump, squeak their shoes and talk loudly on the other side of the gymnasium.

Shinn has taught in the Jackson district for 26 years. She and her siblings fell in love with the school as students after moving to Jackson from another town when they were younger.

"Jackson prides itself on the ability to serve all kinds of different niches," she said, "from fine arts to sports."

She's been a key player behind the scenes working the logistics to make sure the students have somewhere to sing. Every day, rehearsals and classes may be held in a different place than the day before, depending on what performances are scheduled. Sometimes it's a challenge even to find enough space for students to change their clothes for performances.

The addition of the new performance center and other upgrades would fix the logistical problems. As part of Proposition N, the district's ACES program for at-risk students would be moved off-campus, freeing up more space for classes. Prop N also calls for adding dozens more classrooms on two stories in a greenspace area on campus.

While frustrating to have to move from one space to another within the high school to find places to rehearse or perform, Shinn has also seen how the community supports the school and the arts. Shinn said she's now teaching students who are children of former students. Students "are the seeds for wanting to see this place continue. We've all been in this building, and I wouldn't change it for anything, but I want (the new facility) here for my kids and grandkids."

Shinn said music and theater education prepares students for the workforce by teaching work ethic and working as part of a team.

"There are so many life skills that they can take for a lifetime," Shinn said. "When you have music, you can take that with you until your last day."

High school principal Seth Harrell said performing music helps students learn first steps toward public speaking. He said the auditorium could also be used for speech classes.

Superintendent Scott Smith said the venue will be available for the wider community to use, though school performances and needs would be a first priority.