The Creston Community School District is pleased to announce that it has received a $30,000 Constructing or Remodeling a Building grant from the Dekko Foundation and a $15,000 grant from the South Central Iowa Community Foundation. Grant funds will help support the upgrade of the Creston Community High School auditorium. Aspects of the upgrade project include new energy-efficient LED stage lights, a new sound system and microphones, new stage curtains, LCD projector and motorized screen, and full-length practice mirrors.

An upgraded auditorium will not only benefit the students and school district, but also the community. In addition to the numerous high school events and activities, the Creston Community High school auditorium has held dance recitals, community theatre productions, holiday concerts, education conferences, political events, and much more.

Laura Granger, speech and drama director at CCHS, has spearheaded this auditorium upgrade project, but she hasn’t done it alone. With the grant-writing help of parent Pam Hoffman and the mentoring of longtime-arts advocate Jan Knock, this project has started to come to fruition. And thanks to the CCHS class of 2016 for donating the money toward a new light board and the generous people of the Dekko Foundation and the South Central Iowa Community Foundation, the goal of updating the auditorium is within sights.

Auditorium upgrades are an expensive project and CCSD still needs to procure at least $58,000 to complete the almost $142,000 project.

The school administration recognizes the need for this project, but due to the overwhelming costs, the auditorium upgrade project has stayed at the bottom of the “To-Do List”, until now. One way community members can help is by attending the Drive 4 UR School event on Saturday, Sept. 16. It will start at 11:30 a.m. or immediately following the Balloon Days parade at Creston Automotive on 401 W. Adams St. If you would like more information or if you or your company would like to donate money toward the auditorium project, please contact Laura Granger by email at lgranger@crestonschools.org.