An email from Kathleen Banks Everett of Decatur School of Ballet circulated widely amongst the Decatur population last week, stating that the Ballet had been priced out of using Decatur High’s new auditorium for an upcoming performance after months of involvement with the school system about renting the space.  (If you haven’t read the email yet, it can be viewed in full after the jump.)

And since I have not yet received a reply from CSD on this matter, I had to dig up my own info.

When the Decatur School Board approved the new High School Auditorium rates back in January ($150 per hour includes one required technician; plus $80 fee for technician set up and breakdown; $50 per hour for each additional technician), the note from Maintenance Director Gene Ponder included this caveat…

The new auditorium at the high school is technically sophisticated. The space requires a district trained staff technician to operate the lights and sound. It has already been determined that even for a basic presentation, that it takes a technician one hour for light and sound set up and a half hour after the event for break down. So use of the auditorium will require at least one technician.

So, just from reading this explanation, the lesson here seems to be that if you build a state-of-the-art facility, you’re going to end up pricing some folks out of the market.  It’s that simple.  However, there are still relevant, unanswered questions.  For instance, is CSD just covering operating costs for the rental or are they also trying to raise revenue in a very tough economic climate?  Which is preferable to the city population?

Also, these rates were set back in January, but Ms. Everett’s note says that CSD told her that rates weren’t set until mid-February.  Why is there a discrepancy?

We need to dig up some answers to these questions before we can put on our well-worn judgment hats.

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