Benefactor may help OPHS
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

In a surprise announcement that bodes well for Oak Park High School’s struggle to build a new visual and performing arts theater, officials say an anonymous donor has expressed willingness to pay for perhaps as much as half of the building’s $4.5 million cost.

Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD) has earmarked $2 million for the project, but the Oak Park Theater Building Committee, a group of private citizens pushing for a larger building, said the donor could help pay for the difference.

"That’s the most exciting thing," said Jim Kalember, president of the OPUSD Board of Education. "We’re not in a position where we can just snap our fingers and come up with some more bond money."

The school district proposed construction of a new multi-purpose building to accommodate the high school’s growing arts and entertainment programs. Plays and productions currently are performed inside the gymnasium where acoustics are difficult and there’s neither a stage nor proper lighting.

The building committee prefers construction of a full performing arts theater with as many as 400 seats plus annex and rehearsal facilities, but the cost is higher.

At OPUSD’s Dec.12 school board meeting, committee members presented architectural plans outlining the theater concept.

"We’ve got multi-purpose facilities all over the Oak Park School District. We don’t need another doggoned multi-purpose facility," said Paul Luttrell, committee chairman.

"The community has recognized this for a long time and I think our approach to the facilities’ needs is more realistic to the scale of the program that’s in place there," Luttrell said. "Now I think for the first time [the school board] has acknowledged the merits of what we’re asking for."

Luttrell said he hopes the school board will think "outside the box" when it meets to discuss the matter in detail at its Jan. 8 meeting.

Kalember remains cautiously optimistic.

"We’re not quite sure how [the plans] are going to play out at the state architect’s office and how much redesigning we’re going to have to do. That’s always a cost component," Kalember said.

"I think Paul’s group has come up with some extraordinarily attractive options that really enhance the functionality ... And it doesn’t impact the parking that much which was one of our biggest concerns."

Dougherty & Dougherty, an Orange County architect that designed the Thousand Oaks High School performing arts’ theater, prepared the Oak Park plans.

While the committee has hosted several successful fundraisers, Luttrell said it would take either a large private donation or a new construction bond to fully finance the project.

The committee reported a $25,000 balance at its May 10 meeting.

"Even if a private donor doesn’t come forward, quite frankly the school board has to face the question of are they out of money and do they need to go back to the voters and reassess the bonding authority for the Oak Park School District?" Luttrell said.

"Knowing how much our little community wants a theater, we think the likelihood is very good we could get the 55 percent ‘yea’ on the notion of issuing a bond to get this built."

The Oak Park Theater Building Committee is an established nonprofit organization. For more information about the group’s efforts, visit www.oakparktheater.org.