The Windsor C-1 Board of Education helped break in the newly renovated auditorium at Windsor High School on Sept. 18, meeting in the spiffed-up space for the first time.
The auditorium makeover, combined with remodeling of the adjoining front entrance to the high school, carried the largest price tag among projects on the checklist for a $14.75 million bond issue C-1 voters approved in April 2017.
“The front entrance and auditorium was kind of wrapped up into one entire project, which (cost) a total of $2.8 million,” Windsor Superintendent Joel Holland said.
Windsor High Principal Jason Naucke gives the auditorium his best high-five.
“It’s awesome to have that,” he said. “We had an auditorium before, but this is apples-to-oranges in terms of quality.”
He praised the audio-visual equipment and projection screens, and the increased seating capacity, which is large enough to accommodate staff and student gatherings.
“We’ve already held class meetings and professional development meetings in there, where we’re able to bring everybody in those groups in,” Naucke said.
On Sundays, a new church, Twin Rivers Church, is holding services in the auditorium, which now has brown and gold decor, Windsor’s signature colors, instead of the green color scheme formerly used in the space.
The auditorium features a new 273-seat balcony and full LED lighting as well as sloped side walls and 20 ceiling panels for optimal acoustics. The new sound system boasts four main speakers and a subwoofer and the stage – the same size as the old stage, but with a new surface – employs a rear-screen projection unit that can handle both speaker presentations and incorporation with scenery for theatrical productions.
With 442 seats on the main level, the facility has 715 seats in all, nearly double the original 366. The auditorium also is fully compliant with requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act, including wheelchair access to the stage and seating space for wheelchairs on both levels, with elevator access to the balcony.
“It’s not just that the facility is nice,” Naucke said. “That’s a given. It’s about what this shows of how our community supports this school.
“I tell our kids how lucky they are to be in a community that passes a bond issue allowing us to upgrade our facilities. If you want to see what community support looks like, just go sit in that auditorium.”
The general contractor for all the bond issue projects is Brockmiller Construction of Farmington.
Entrances were improved at all five district schools, including the high school.
The buildings now have a double-layered security system from Raptor Technologies. Visitors are buzzed into a foyer area, where their identity is screened and verified, before they pass through a second door that opens into the main office. Visitors must put on a name badge and then go through the office area before having access to hallways and classrooms.