Members of Northfield High School Theater Troupe #8710.
The hallways of the performing arts department at Northfield High School are almost always teeming with activity. Every day you can see students marching by with guitars and saxophones or sitting in a circle to devise a piece of theater. The school is home to 2,300 students, and around 50% of them participate in the performing arts in some capacity.
Their latest project, however, is not a production: NHS performers, musicians, and stagecraft students are advocating for voters to pass Ballot Issue 4A and approve a $975 million bond issue for Denver Public Schools.
The district’s plan includes allocating $240 million to install air conditioning in 29 DPS schools, $301 million for electrical and fire safety updates, $100 million for refreshed learning environments, and $83 million for safety and technology. In accordance with the “Pursuit of Passion” section of the bond proposal, the Paul Sandoval Campus would receive an auditorium and a health clinic.
Northfield and DSST Conservatory Green share this campus, and its student population has grown continuously since its opening in 2015. Now, the multipurpose “cafetorium” that serves as a concert venue, theater, event space, and cafeteria is not enough. Northfield senior and Thespian Troupe #8710 officer Shannon Studts comments: “Our talent has outgrown the quality of a cafetorium. Students need real, transferable skills in the performing arts, ones that [this space] just can’t provide.”
Many performing arts students on the Paul Sandoval Campus have expressed concerns about the lack of industry standard infrastructure in the cafetorium. Music students perform on the stage infrequently because the lack of acoustics prevents them from hearing their own sound. Actors in Northfield productions find that the space is often being used for meals, school dances, and staff meetings during their rehearsals. Lighting and sound systems cannot remain out on the cafeteria floor as thousands of students enter the room for lunch, so what could be an opportunity for real-world technology training is reduced to an awkward portable board that frequently breaks.
The wider Paul Sandoval community is also in desperate need of this auditorium. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the campus in June of 2023. While students and faculty were grateful to have hosted this visit, it was frustrating to witness the momentous event in a space that smelled like the hamburgers of the previous school year. If the Paul Sandoval Campus is going to continue receiving distinguished guests, we will need a dignified space in which to host them.
In addition to lacking an auditorium, Paul Sandoval is the only comprehensive high school campus in DPS that does not have a health clinic. Rather than the medical center seen on other DPS campuses, NHS and DSST each have a small nurse’s office that is not designed to meet the needs of such a large student body. DPS strives for equity for all students, which means access to healthcare. This clinic is the key to moving that goal forward.
The 2024 DPS bond has concrete goals that would vastly improve the quality of education across the district. The $975 million stipulated in the Denver ballot will not raise taxes, and will have massive impacts on safety, health, and education for tens of thousands of public-school students.
Those on the Paul Sandoval campus advocating for the approval of Ballot Issue 4A have found a home in the performing arts, and within the broader student body. We are asking Denver residents to vote yes on the DPS bond because it puts their community in the spotlight—a functioning spotlight this time.
Editor’s note: The students contacted Front Porch to submit their opinion submission. Opposing views are welcome.
As a patron of NHS’s excellent theatre productions I can attest to the need for a designated auditorium. The students are making the best of their circumstances. However the quality of their work and the technical experience they would gain from an actual auditorium would enhance and build their program and their skills.
Pass Ballot Issue 4A and watch the stars shine!