Fairport students, parents urge board to fund additional drama club advisers

Student leaders and a parent booster told the Fairport Central School District Board of Education on Oct. 20 that the high school drama club lacks the adult capacity to train and mentor crew members and urged the district to fund two additional advisers.

The students — represented at the podium by Marley Priest and Orianna Toner — said the program runs 70 to 90 participants per production but currently has only two adult advisers. "We urge the school board to consider investing in 2 additional advisers to guide the club students and ensure each area of our theater department has a school sanctioned leader," Marley Priest said.

Arianna Toner, speaking as a crew member, said the lack of adult leaders has led the club to remove longstanding student crew-head roles that once trained underclassmen in lights, sound, props, hair and costumes. "There are no crew heads this year ... every crew member was assigned individual tasks, reducing the knowledge they gained by replacing what they would have learned on sub crews," Toner said. She added that set-build opportunities, which historically taught many practical skills, have been scaled back.

A parent speaking as the drama boosters’ leader said that only a handful of parents shoulder much of the volunteer workload and that many families are time-limited because students participate in multiple activities. "There are 90 kids involved and about 5 parents who support. It is difficult to get parental support from 2:15 to 5 when the kids need support and supervision," the booster leader said. The booster leader also thanked district staff for purchasing necessary equipment and expressed willingness to help find solutions.

Board President Bridal Pacer and Superintendent Brett Provenzano acknowledged the comments and said district staff would follow up. "We do have your emails, and we can — Mr. Provenzano will reach out for sure," Bridal Pacer said during the public-comment exchange. Provenzano and high school principal Bob Clark both indicated school administrators would meet with student leaders and advisers: Clark said staff would meet in his office with the students and relevant staff within about a week.

Why it matters: Students told the board the gap is both instructional and operational — fewer adults supervising means fewer opportunities for multi-week skill training and less consistent rehearsal time. The students said the absence of a multi-tier training structure risks losing institutional knowledge when experienced students graduate.

Details and next steps: Students and the booster leader said the program needs at least two additional advisers to provide coverage across specialties (lights, sound, props, sets, hair/makeup, costumes) and to restore a training pipeline for underclassmen. The board did not take formal action at the meeting but district administrators said they will meet with student leaders and advisers and report back to the board.

Student and parent speakers: Marley Priest, student leader, drama club; Orianna Toner, student (crew); Daniel Dozer, student; Cameron Hyman, student; Tyler Fleming, student; Booster leader Rebecca (name on file with district). District responders who spoke to the item: Brett Provanzano, superintendent; Bob Clark, Fairport High School principal; Bridal Pacer, board president.

Clarifying details: Students said each production includes about 70–90 participants and currently only two adult advisers. They said subcrew training and multi-day set builds have been reduced this year. The booster leader said roughly five parents are doing the majority of volunteer support for the program.

Ending: District leaders committed to follow-up meetings with the students, boosters and school staff. The board did not vote on staffing or budget changes at the Oct. 20 meeting.