By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — A $1.1 million request for additional money to upgrade the Staples High School auditorium’s stage rigging and lighting  — part of a $4.4 million 2024-25 capital projects list — was endorsed Thursday by the Board of Education. 

The capital projects list was forwarded to town boards for funding approval by a unanimous vote by five of the board’s seven members at the meeting in the Staples cafeteria

The action took place in front of dozens of students and parents who regularly use the high school auditorium’s stage and called the request essential.

“Please help us,” said Fin Maddaloni, a junior who used her time at the podium to talk about the impact and reputation of the Staples Players, the student theater troupe.

Others sent written comments to the board. 

Eva Slossberg, a junior, told the board that when she is singing during a choir concert on stage, she wants to focus on the music, not about potential danger posed by the rigging system above.

The safety of more than the Staples Players depends on it, she and others said.

“It is also where assemblies and band concerts take place,” said Mia Lewis, a senior.

“The space is an important part of the community,” added Sorel Kennedy, another senior.

The stage-funding request represents a significant increase in the project’s originally estimated cost.

Last year, the town approved $411,695 for the project. But further investigation by a design company that specializes in auditoriums uncovered additional safety concerns in the 30-year-old system.

With that new information, the initial plan to spend $200,000 to replace lighting and $200,000 to switch out rigging increased to an overall $1.6 million price tag, said Elio Longo, the district’s chief financial officer.

The system, which members of the board’ s Finance and Facilities Committee toured this week, was described as being at “various states of inoperability” and obsolete.

David Roth, a theater teacher who helps run Staples Players, said that when the school was last renovated in 2006 the auditorium was untouched.

“It really is out of date at this point,” Roth said. “Some equipment can’t be repaired. There are no parts for it … We really should have better equipment to educate [students] on.”

In addition to searching online for used replacement parts, the group spends about $30,000 on light rentals and approximately $60,000 a year on sound rentals, Roth said.

An upgrade to the sound system is not part of the proposed work, but Longo said the contractor would be asked to design the system to allow for improvements down the road.

Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice called the sound system subpar, but not something making the auditorium unsafe.

The lighting and rigging were considered a safety issue, he added.

“The scope did definitely widen. I support it 100 percent,” Scarice said of the funding request.

Board member Robert Harrington said he would be surprised if there would be any viable repairs for a system deemed to be unsafe. Still, he said understands some may question how the project cost increased so dramatically.

Scarice said the project is not like a roof where cost estimates are more straight forward.

“It’s a very unique project,” Scarice said, and the district was not going to ask for more than it thought it needed.

Beyond safety, both Harrington and board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon said the board’s job is to make sure that school district facilities are top notch.

“A lot of magic happens on that stage,” said Harrington.

“We should have a facility we are proud of … to match the quality of the performances,” said Hordon.

Calum Madigan, a student representative to the school board, said the main focus should be on ensuring the safety of students: “I think these concerns with the auditorium should be addressed as soon as possible.”

Board Chair Lee Goldstein suggested Board of Finance members be invited to tour the auditorium before they vote on the funding request next month. She also urged members in the audience to stay engaged when the request goes before funding bodies.

If approved, the board was told the project would be put out to bid next fall with the work done in the summer of 2026, according to a memo sent to the board by Collier Project Leaders, the district’s facilities consultant.

Altogether there are 26 projects on this year’s capital funding list. The most expensive item is $1.5 million to replace sports flooring at Staples.

Part of an evolving 10-year capital plan, the list is some different from the one delivered to town funding bodies last year. 

Some projects were removed and assigned to the district’s facilities budget. Others were added, including projects identified in a recent study of the school building envelopes.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.