It has been years in the making, but Fayette County High School is on its way to having its own auditorium attached to the school.

The school’s principal Dr. Daniel Lane and the fine arts faculty, along with school board member Scott Hollowell, Fayette County Public School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Barrow, and other dignitaries donned hard hats and shovels to turn the first piles of soil where the new auditorium will be constructed.

The auditorium will cost $8.4 million, and will be funded by $3.5 million from Education Special Local Option Sales Tax revenues and $4.9 million from available capital and reserves.  

Construction of the 31,622 square foot auditorium will begin after school starts, and it is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2018. It will feature a 576 seating area with theater support spaces, including set shops, dressing rooms, and stage storage areas. The auditorium will serve as a learning environment for those students interested in careers both on stage and in production.

The project also includes a new instructional suite for the band program. Large instrument storage rooms, staff offices, ensemble rooms, and several individual practice rooms support the band and instrument classroom.