If Kristen Keplinger, activities director at MacArthur High School, could have just one wish this year, it is that renovations to the school auditorium would be done in time for the Senior Farewell assembly in the spring.
Work started last week on a major renovation project to bring the 1969-era auditorium up to date when a crew from Davis Furniture Co., from Black River Falls, Wis., began the chore of dismantling the 1,200 or so seats in the auditorium, one at a time. Crews started Tuesday afternoon and spent most of the rest of the week removing seats and cleaning up the floor. They will be back in a few months to install new seats.
Doug Brown, assistant superintendent of Educational Services for Lawton Public Schools, said he was tasked last year with making an inspection of the three high school auditoriums to see what needed to be done in order to modernize them. He found curtains with dry rot, stage lights that don’t work, broken seats and outdated acoustical material on the walls.
“Lots of things needed attention if we are going to be hosting performances,” he said. The goal is to get the auditoriums “out of the 1970s and into 2050”, he said.
Brown’s inspection revealed that the need was greatest at MacArthur High School where curtains are pinned together; most of the stage lights don’t work; the curtain rigging does not work, meaning the stage curtains don’t close; and upwards of 40 seats are either broken or have been removed from the auditorium. A number of other seats are ripped, but still usable.
The school district will begin what may be a year-and-a-half long project to rectify the situation when it starts demolition work at MHS. Work is projected to take at least five months at MHS, according to Jason James, chief operating officer for LPS. The auditorium also will get a new paint job, carpeting, seating, curtains and lighting. The stage facade also will be updated.
Crews from Lawton Public Schools will do some of the work, James said.
The curtain rigging at all three high schools will be replaced with an automated system, James said, and aisle lights will be installed. All three audio/visual systems also will be updated and carpeting will be placed under the seats.
James said crews are beginning work during the spring semester rather than waiting until summer so as not to disrupt the normal summer maintenance schedule. Once MHS is completed, work will begin next fall at Eisenhower High School; work is slated to begin at LHS in spring 2026.
While work will be basically the same at each school, some sites may not require as extensive renovations as others. For example, lights at Lawton High were replaced last year after a flood damaged the electrical system.
Total cost for the three high schools is estimated at $3 million, according to Lance Gibbs, chief financial officer for Lawton Public Schools. The work at MHS alone is estimated at $1 million. But Gibbs said the work to be done at each school will determine the cost of the entire project. Renovation work at LHS might be cheaper because the electrical system has already been replaced.
Part of the funds will come from a $1 million grant from the McMahon Foundation, which will be paid out in installments over the life of the project, Gibbs said.
“They are an incredible partner to the community and the district,” Gibbs said of the McMahon Foundation. “Obviously Lawton wouldn’t be what it is without McMahon.”
“Their continued support for Lawton Public Schools allows us to continue to improve the learning space for our kids. Without them, this project would not be going forward,” James said of the McMahon Foundation.
Funds from the current LPS bond and from the building fund will cover the rest of the cost, Gibbs said.
The five-month timeline for work to be done at MHS means Keplinger has had to shuffle around some activities that normally are held in the auditorium. Some of those, such as band concerts, will be held at MacArthur Middle School while others will be held in the MHS gym.
But it is the Senior Farewell assembly in particular that has Keplinger worried.
“That’s the show I can’t wrap my mind around,” she said. It is special for seniors and she wants this year’s class to have the same memories other seniors have had.
“I’m still working on it,” Keplinger said of the assembly. “We are willing to make these sacrifices to have a beautiful facility.”