Coyote families and community,

I want to give everyone a quick update regarding the Columbia High School Auditorium. Earlier this week, a major piece of our lighting equipment failed and melted. Unfortunately, this is the second time in the past twelve months that this same component has failed, which highlights just how difficult it has become to keep this aging system running reliably. Because the auditorium lighting relies on this piece of equipment, we currently have no operational lights in the auditorium.

Locating replacement parts for the more than two decades old system is getting harder to find, and repairs take longer than any of us would like. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly costly to maintain the aging system. Long-term, the auditorium could become a non-usable space unless it is renovated. Short-term, our team is working closely with technicians to secure the necessary parts and get everything safely operational again.

At this time, we are hoping to have the auditorium back up and running by next week in time for our upcoming holiday performances. However, if the repairs cannot be finished in time, we will host this year’s holiday performances in the CHS Commons on the steps leading into the auditorium so our students can still share all their hard work with you.

We know this is frustrating, and we truly appreciate your flexibility and patience. Our goal is always to provide the best experience for our students, staff, and families, and we are pushing hard to make that happen. We will provide an update to our parents and community by Monday, December 8th so everyone has time to plan accordingly.

Thank you for your continued support as we work to resolve this long-standing equipment issue as quickly as possible.

Go Coyotes!