Washington Court House City School is hosting another community clean-up day for the Washington Historic Auditorium, and everyone in the community is invited. From 8am until noon, volunteers from the school and community will meet at the historic building on Temple Street to continue the work on sprucing up the venue.
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“Washington Court House City Schools moved out of the old middle school over 10 years ago,” explained Superintendent Tom Bailey, who is in his third year with the district. “Since then, it has become the target of vandalism and suffered greatly from the lack of everyday maintenance in its increasing age.”
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The 80 year old building is still used for academic and arts events, but has not held everyday activities since 2009.
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Over the past year, a committee of staff and community members have been meeting and working on a plan to increase the use of the facility, as well as bring the historic building back to its former glory without using additional funds.
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“The district will continue to support the auditorium with normal wear and tear, just like we do for our educational spaces, the football stadium, track, soccer stadium, baseball and softball complex, and tennis courts,” explained Bailey. ”However, the district is not in a position to renovate the auditorium without the help of private individuals, corporations, fundraisers, grants, and hard work.”
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The upcoming WCHCS operations levy, a seven year 1% traditional income tax for operating expenses, will not be used towards any new construction, which means the 80 year old facility will not see any major renovations from the temporary tax increase.
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In efforts to find alternate funding opportunities, the auditorium committee has applied for grants and is planning fundraising opportunities. They have also engaged the city, county commissioners, and state politicians to build an awareness of the potential the historic auditorium has to offer to the community.
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WCHCS hosted the first clean-up day on August 10th, and over 30 community members pitched in to help. This group included students, alumni, teachers, retired teachers, administrators, board members, churches, and businesses who volunteered their Saturday morning to give this beautiful building a back-to-school spruce up.
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“A lot of progress was made in bringing this beautiful building back to life,” said Bailey, “but there's still plenty of work to be done. We need lots of hands of all ages to help us, so dress comfortable and come ready to get dirty for a great cause.”
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“The work will begin at 8am, and we will work until noon. Whether or not you can come for the whole time, or just a small part, every helping hand will be appreciated.