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If the voters are asked whether they think the school district should spend $6 million dollars for a new High School auditorium what would the answer be?  It's hard to say.  On the one hand Lansing is a fiscally conservative community.  The first referendum on building a new town hall was defeated, and the new government building was only approved in a scaled down version in the second referendum.

What are the benefits of a new auditorium? The Middle School auditorium is woefully inadequate both in audience capacity and in its back stage facilities. Try getting tickets to the High School musical at the door. You can't. The musicals sell out quickly. Or try wedging yourself into a band concert if you get there a few minutes late. Good luck getting a seat.

Most school districts have auditoriums in their High Schools as well as their Middle Schools. The Lansing music program and theatrical productions are surprisingly successful, especially given that Lansing is a small community. The excellence of the staff and the talent and tenacity of the kids far exceeds what most school systems this size accomplish, and many systems much larger, for that matter.

Art facilities are always expensive. But look what our kids can accomplish with them. The recent cabaret night in the Middle School showed how well these programs give our kids confidence and self-assured poise that will help them go through life with an edge over the general population of their peers. If not expanding the facilities means cutting these programs is it worth it to not do it? Can we afford to build it? Can we afford not to?

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