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Community pushes back after draft facilities-use manual would standardize auditorium fees
Summary
Matthews County residents and long-standing arts groups urged the school board to revise a draft facilities-use manual that would standardize fees and custodial requirements for the Harry M. Ward auditorium, saying proposed increases and limits on long-term use could force community organizations out of the county.
The Matthews County School Board heard more than an hour of public comment on March 17 after administration presented a draft Facilities Use Manual intended to standardize fees, custodial coverage and scheduling priority for school-owned facilities, including the Harry M. Ward auditorium.
Many longtime users of the auditorium told the board the draft, as written, would raise event costs dramatically and penalize groups that have used the facility for decades. "This document as written will not allow that whether it pushes us out because we are too regular of a user or because of fees so high that we couldn't begin to afford them," said Linda Smith, who identified herself as president and general manager of Virginia's Little Opera.…
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