Croatan High School gets auditorium after 12 years

A celebration Wednesday of the opening of Croatan High School’s new auditorium was one to be heard.

The school’s vocal ensemble welcomed guests with song as they arrived in the lobby, and the Croatan High School Jazz Ensemble took the stage for a performance that demonstrated just what the auditorium means to the school and the community.

“It gives good sound and improves our performance. There’s a professional feel to it,” said sophomore Lucas Frye, who has tried out the auditorium several times as a member of the Jazz Ensemble.

While Croatan High School has been open since 1998, the high school has been without an auditorium of its own. Until now, music, drama and other performances have been held in locations such as the gymnasium or moved to off-campus sites.

Croatan High School Band Director Alice Aldredge said the new facility will not only benefit the students but enhance the quality of the performance for the audience.

“It’s a facility they can associate with the aesthetics and beauty the music was written for,” Aldredge said.

The 19,302-square-foot auditorium was completed for approximately $5.1 million and features 707 seats, eight wheelchair spaces, lobby with restrooms, stage with theatrical lighting, control booth, and backstage dressing rooms and restrooms.

The auditorium has been in use since early March, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday to officially mark the opening and to thank the many people involved in making the auditorium a reality.

Principal Mat Bottoms said there was a “we can” attitude from the start of the project and close working relationship between the school staff and project leaders as planning and construction progressed.

“On behalf of the school, thank you so much for what you did to make this possible,” Bottoms said.

The list of people to thank was extensive, including past and present Board of Education members and school system staff; past and present county commissioners; contractors, architects and engineers.

Also on the list was Bond Projects Manager Keith Maready, who has worked closely with the school system’s Director of Facilities Support Operations Judson Walton, throughout the planning and implementation of projects approved in a 2005 school bond referendum.

The Croatan High School auditorium is the last new construction project associated with the bond referendum that totaled $50 million.

Carteret County’s citizens were applauded for approving that two-part bond referendum, which included improvements and additions at 14 school sites and a separate project for a classroom addition at East Carteret High School.

Both parts of the referendum were approved with 70 percent of the vote.

“It’s a reflection of the widespread support of the bonds that came from every corner of the county,” said Dan Reitz, who served as chair of the grassroots committee that campaigned in support of the bond referendum.

Reitz also served on an advisory committee for bond projects and said a lot of dedication and effort went into planning and budgeting for projects and ensuring they have been done in a quality manner.

Farrior & Sons of Farmville was the general contractor; SFL+a of Charlotte was the project architect; Stanford White Associates of Raleigh was the structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical engineer; and Baldwin & Associates of Greenville was the civil engineer for the project.